Supernatural sleuths and the search for truth

From The Sydney Morning Herald 39th December 2010.
Supernatural sleuths and the search for truth 
The official line is that police do not seek help from people claiming to be clairvoyants - but the pressure to solve crimes can lead to a softening of the rules, writes Kim Arlington.
It was a case that made international, albeit slightly sardonic, headlines.
''Psychic finds wrong corpse,'' reported Britain's favourite tabloid, The Sun. ''At least someone was found,'' the New York Daily News conceded.
In August, a fortnight after six-year-old Kiesha Abrahams went missing from her Mount Druitt home, a ''hunch'' led an Aboriginal elder to bushland in Sydney's west.

There, in the Nurragingy Reserve at Doonside, Cheryl Carroll-Lagerwey made a gruesome discovery: a human torso minus the arms, legs and head, wrapped in plastic beside a creek.
The remains were not those of Kiesha but of Kristi McDougall, a 31-year-old mother who had disappeared two months previously. Two people have since been charged with her murder.

" No-one Dies In Lily Dale"

Lily Dale in Chautauqua County in New York State is one of America's oldest and most famous communities that is devoted to Spiritualism.

Below is a film featuring Lily Dale and you can find out much more by going to their website here.

The community provides a series of seminars and meetings throughout the year. There is a fee for admission to the grounds, which include a museum.  The Marion Skidmore Library. Lily Dale Museum & Historical Society, bookstore, shops, and a snack bar. Also of note to the potential tourist is the Lily Dale pet cemetary. The pet cemetery is located at the entrance to the LeoLyn Woods a towering old growth forest.

The town of Lily Dale has its own Volunteer Fire Department, water supply and two swans named Lily and Dale. Visitors must pay a gate fee of $10 per person during the summer season which runs from mid-June until Labor Day. Gate fees are waived on Sunday morning to allow nearby residents to attend church services. Included in the gate fee is admission to a variety of daily and weekly scheduled events: mediumship demonstrations, thought exchange meetings, and healing services, among others.

Internet radio and Signs of Life

 Chris Carter has examined all of the existing evidence developed by near death experience researchers and compiled a comprehensive book that leads one to an inescapable conclusion - the evidence for survival of consciousness is clear and concise. Evidence is taken from ancient cultures through modern neuroscience, as all of the arguments for and against survival are explored in his book, Science and the Near- Death Experience - How Consciousness Survives Death. Chris's clear conclusion is that the data fully supports the notion that our minds can, and do, function after our brains have stopped. Join us tonight as we explore the brain and consciousness, deathbed visions, and the specific elements of the near death experience where people are thrust into another world.

you can listen to the latest and past shows at this link :
http://www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org/signsofliferadio.htm

From the Spirirtual Association of Great Britain

Exciting and Important News for 2011!

During the Christmas holiday closure period the SAGB will move to a new home that is still in Belgravia, London, but much closer to Victoria station! With effect from 12th January 2011, the SAGB will reside in the Victoria Charity Centre, we will be housed alongside other worthwhile charities such as, the Royal Institute for the Blind, Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, and the Women's Interfaith Network to name but a few. Like most modern buildings today, when you come to visit the Association, you will need to first sign in at reception in the foyer on the ground floor, and from there you will be directed to the second floor. There is a lift and wheelchair access to all areas. For the first quarter, while we settle in and find our feet, we will not be offering any evening demonstrations at 7pm. The Sunday Service will be at 3.30 instead of 4.00 and the demonstration on Sunday will be at 5.00 instead of at 6pm. Please take a note of the new opening hours and times, they are slightly different, and we look forward to welcoming you into our new home. Our new website will be available during the Christmas period and will display all the latest information and what is planned during the first quarter of 2011.

So please remember! After we close on Sunday 5th December at 7pm we
re-open on Wednesday,12th January 2011 at 11.30, in our new home at
11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB, close to Victoria Station.
___________________________________________________
 
 
The 7 Principals of the SAGB:


We believe in an Infinite Intelligence, Who
governs all

We believe that personal identity and all sentient
forms of life survive physical death

We believe that continuous existence and
eternal progress occur for all in the Hereafter

We believe in communion with the spiritual
realms

We believe that all of humanity is spiritually linked

We believe that in the Hereafter, all must account
for their actions on earth and will judge
themselves accordingly

We believe that all are responsible for the way
they conduct their earthly lives.

Sitters witness Spirit fingers during seance

Sitters witness Spirit fingers during seance

by LEWIS SUTTON

Trumpets levitated and 'dead' father gives convincing personal evidence to sitter at David Thompson and Stewart Alexander sйances.

 

THE COBER Hill Conference Centre has over recent years been the venue for several seminars on physical phenomena. The Centre, sited just north of Scarborough, overlooks beautiful Yorkshire countryside with the North Sea visible just a short distance away. This seminar, the second to be organised by Alf and June Winchester, featured sйances with mediums Stewart Alexander and David Thompson plus lectures, demonstrations of psychic art, psychic surgery together with daily meditations and healing sessions.

The first seance of the seminar was with medium Stewart Alexander and lasted for nearly two hours - but time passed quickly with all the action that took place. Soon two trumpets were flying around up to about 8ft (2.4m) from the medium who was located behind a curtain in a corner of the room. This type of phenomena does not provide direct evidence of Survival, but does show just how flexible and adaptable ectoplasm is. And I don't know how anyone other than our Spirit friends could so accurately propel trumpets rapidly around the room in the dark without hitting anything!

Read the rest of the article here !

The spirit photography of Ada Deane – The Armistice Day Series

Jim Warwood takes a look at some controversial spirit photographs. Though apparently having many psychic experiences as a child, it was not until Ada Emma Deane was fifty-eight years old that her career as a photographic medium began.  After becoming involved with Spiritualism, she was encouraged by a North London medium to develop her psychic powers and in June 1920 obtained her first psychic photograph.

Read the full story at The Spirit of PN

A video on the Beginnings of Modern Spiritualism

The Beginnings of Modern Spiritualism

James Van Praagh contacts a young father who died from a heart attack

James Van Praagh  is one of the most noted mediums in the world. He travels and gives lectures and is also the Producer of the Television series Medium.
Here James does a reading for a widow whose husband died at age 29 from a heart attack. From his Beyond TV show. To learn more about James, visit www.vanpraagh.com

Noted British Spiritualist Montague Keen

In his own words- from Spirit !

"I was born into a Jewish family in Maida Vale, London on 7-2-25 the youngest child of John Keen. My father had a club and a guest house and we had a very comfortable life until the war broke out and I was sent to Wales as an evacuee – I was not happy there as they would not allow music in the house so I learned to play music in my head – Rachmaminov 2nd Piano Concerto was one piece of music I knew well and it became so important to me.

My father was killed when a bomb hit our house and I got a telegram to come back to London immediately. Suddenly we did not have a home it was the end of my childhood and my education which I loved – I had dreamed of going to university. My mother said I had to go to work to help support her. At 16 years old I got a job as a journalist at the Hornsey Journal as a young reporter – I cycled all over North London. I had to grow up fast.

I suffered from ashma and ended up in hospital many times. It helped if I went to see horror films so the cinema became a big part of my life.

I decided at 14 years old I really did not want to belong to any religion – I needed my mind to be free of restriction. I wanted to explore life. There was a medium in London Tom Corbett who was extremely popular with all the actors and actresses and high society at the time so I decided to investigate him. By then I was working at the House of Commons and no one ever refused an invitation lunch in that great historic building. So I was able to interview all those people I would never otherwise get to. I wrote a book on Corbett but never got around to publishing it. All I can say is it certainly opened up the world of spirit to me and it became my greatest interest in life."

Paula Gloria & Veronica Ford Keen (Communicates with Her Late Husband)


You can read more about Montague Keen at the Montague Keen Foundation website
http://www.montaguekeen.com/index.html

"Psychic warned Sheridan: 'Murdoch ordered surveillance'

Scots politician Tommy Sheridan

A "Psychic Agony Aunt" told Tommy Sheridan he was under "24/7" surveillance by the News of the World, a court heard yesterday.

Yasemin Urquhart, who wrote for the newspaper under the pseudonym "Ruth the Truth", sent a series of emails to the politician, telling him the observation was "ordered by Rupert Murdoch" and advised him to "keep your head down".

The emails were shown to the Scottish News of the World editor Bob Bird during his fourth day on the witness stand at Sheridan's perjury trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Sheridan and his wife Gail are accused of lying during the successful action against the paper over allegations made about his private life. They both deny the charges.

The action followed the newspaper's claims that he was an adulterer who visited swingers' clubs.

Sheridan, a former contestant on Big Brother, won £200,000 in damages after the newspaper printed the allegations.

Following the civil jury trial at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, a police investigation was launched and the former MSP and his wife, both 46, were charged with perjury.

Read more at the Press Gazette

Startling new study 'proves' that we can see the future

Are humans psychic? Startling new study 'proves' that we can see the future
By Fiona Macrae

You may already know this…but psychic powers seem to actually exist.

Research suggests that far from being a trick employed by fairground fortune tellers, many of us are blessed with the ability to see into the future

Influencing events before they happen is also within our remit, the study by a respected psychologist found.
The publication of the results in a leading social science journal will make waves in the world of science.

They will also start a million conversations about the significance of everyday occurrences, such as knowing who is at the end of the phone before picking it up.

Daryl Bem, a physicist and part-time magician turned psychologist, set out to investigate psi, or parapsychology.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1330596/Humans-psychic-powers-startling-new-study-reveals.html#ixzz15aPUwTgO

Muscian Phil Collins believes he lived before

The famous drummer from legendary group Genesis, Phil Collins believes that in his last life he was at the Alamo. Over the years he has been an active collector of relics relating to the Alamo.

In the latest Rolling Stone Magazine he has spoken of of his previous life and 'ghost' photos he took at the Alamo.

These days, Phil Collins is more interested in the Battle of the Alamo than in music. And he’s not just an Alamo history buff, he’s a collector. He says he has hundreds of cannonballs, documents, and other artifacts in his basement in Switzerland.

And now, he thinks some of the photos he’s taken at the site of the Alamo show ghosts or something like them.

Phil told “Rolling Stone” there are, quote, “glowing, semi-transparent light orbs” in the pictures, and he believes they represent, quote, “paranormal energy.”

Phil has also been told by a psychic that he fought at the Alamo in a previous life and he thinks it could be true.He says, quote, “I don’t want to sound like a weirdo. I’m not Shirley Maclaine, but I’m prepared to believe. You’ve seen the pictures. You can’t deny them.” Phil also talks about the neck and spinal cord injury that essentially makes it impossible for him to play the drums like he used to, because he can’t grip the sticks.

Distinguished researchers found evidence for survival

compiled and edited by Michael E. Tymn


It wasn’t long after the birth of modern Spiritualism in 1848 that scientists and scholars began investigating the phenomena. Many of them started out with the intent of showing that all mediums were charlatans, but one by one they came to believe in the reality of mediumship and related psychic phenomena. A few of them sat on the fence when it came to professing a belief in the spirit world, but others were more courageous.

Today, researchers such as Dr. Gary Schwartz of the University of Arizona and Dr. David Fontana, a psychology professor in England, are continuing to verify the existence of genuine mediums, and, concomitantly, of a spirit world, but considering the conclusions of the famous researchers of yesteryear, we should be able to invoke the legal doctrine of Res Judicata – it has already been decided. Consider the following testimony.

Judge John W. Edmonds (1816-1874) – After serving in both houses of the New York legislature, including president of the Senate, Edmonds was elevated to the New York State Supreme Court and became its Chief Justice. He began his investigation of mediums in 1851, assuming that he would expose them as frauds.

– But all this, and much, very much more of a cognate nature went to show me that there was a high order of intelligence involved in this new phenomenon – an intelligence outside of, and beyond, mere mortal agency; for there was no other hypothesis which I could devise or hear of that could at all explain that, whose reality is established by the testimony of tens of thousands, and can easily be ascertained by any one who take the trouble to inquire…

to read more go here

Psychic radio

Captain Pat has a psychic show on Sunday nights on c913FM RADIO.
Click here to go to the station and listen on the internet.

Everyone has a story…….and every Sunday night from 6pm Captain Pat interviews those locals who help make the Macarthur area great. His popular “coffee table chat” style of interviewing takes us on an interesting journey – exploring the lives and times of his guests.

Pat has interviewed well over a thousand locals in the last few years including Ken Moroney, the then Commission of Police; the late 104 year old Matilda Stone who wanted to hear (and got) Vera Lynn; Tim Roberts up and coming hockey superstar; Chief of the Australian Air Force, Mark Binskin; Kevin Shepherd, one of the original boys in the Vegemite TV Commercial; Ellie Roach daughter of the late Warrant Officer Kevin "Dasher" Wheatley VC and Formula Ford racing driver Tom Williamson.

Pat also gives opportunities to local musicians to play live on-air, including Nathan Foley, Ric Bailey, Christie Lamb, Jake Gilroy, Peter McWhirter, Luke Koteras, Heather Honey, Nathaniel Oliveri and Aaron Culligan. And bands Celeritas; Will and the Indians; Stanley and the Knives; End Over End and Rani's Fire. Pat is well connected within the local area and also arranges live gigs for them.

From 8pm the lights go down and the Psychic Mediums appear. Pat “opens the lines” and callers receive a free reading by gifted psychics. Over the past few years psychics Ezio de Angelis, Amanda Rousettey, Marcia Quinton, Imelda Penny, Deb Powell, Kerry Wearing, Lana Jackson and Christine Rose have become regular guests.

Join Captain Pat every Sunday night from 6pm on your station - C91.3FM

The beginnings of Spiritualism

The origin of mediumship is usually linked to the Fox sisters at Hydesville, New York in 1848, but believers date the unofficial beginning of Modern American Spiritualism to the Shakers and similar religious groups. By 1853 the movement had reached San Francisco and London, and by 1860 was worldwide. The Fox family remained very active in Spiritualism for many years. Other notable Spiritualists were Mercy Cadwallader, who became a sort of missionary for the movement, and Emma Hardinge Britten, who wrote e first Spiritualist newspaper in Britain, The Yorkshire Spiritual Telegraph, was published, and by the 1870s there were numerous Spiritualist societies and churches throughout the US and Britain.

There was little in the way of national organisation of mediums in Britain or the USA although some regions of Britain had organised Federations that might have up to thirty circles of similar beliefs, and in 1891 the National Federation of Spiritualists (NFS) came into existence and grew quite large before its name change to the Spiritualists' National Union (SNU) in 1902. British spiritualists of this time were often adherents of the temperance and anti-capital punishment lobbies, often held radical political views and were frequently vegetarians. Some were active in Women's Rights and a minority espoused Free Love: the popular perception of Spiritualists was often of radicals in the Victorian period.

To read more on the Fox Sisters click here for their Wikipedia entry

New internet Spiritualist newspaper launched

It’s now over three months since the last issue of Psychic News rolled off the presses. For the former editorial team there have been some tough times, and we have so much appreciated your messages of encouragement. The one thing we never doubted was that we would eventually return to our regular readers, and hopefully reach many new ones, with a truly independent voice for spirit. We cannot call it Psychic News, but we can certainly continue the spirit and passion of the paper our pioneers set up, hence our new title, Spirit of PN.

Spirit of PN is brought to you by former PN editor Sue Farrow, assistant editor Paul Brett and techno-wizard Magnus Smith. A new and very welcome addition to the team is Geoff Griffiths, who is working incredibly hard to promote and publicise our new venture.

click here to go to the website and register

Harry Price : British psychic researcher

Harry Price (17 January 1881 – 29 March 1948) was a British psychic researcher and author.

Although Price claimed his birth was in Shropshire, he was actually born in London in Red Lion Square othe site of the South Place Ethical Society's Conway Hall. 
He was educated in New Cross, first at Waller Road Infants School and then Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys School At 15, Price founded the Carlton Dramatic Society [and wrote small plays including a drama about his early experience with a poltergeist which he said took place at a haunted manor house in Shropshire


Harry Price & a Spirit

A few years later, Price came to the attention of the Press when he claimed an early interest in space-telegraphy.

He set up a receiver and transmitter between Telegraph Hill, Hatcham and St Peter's Church Brockley and captured a spark on a photographic plate, though according to the most recent biography of Price by Richard Morris, this was nothing more than Harry writing a press release saying he had done the experiment as nothing was verified.

The young Price also had an avid interest in coin collecting and wrote several articles for The Askean, the magazine for Haberdashers' School. In his autobiography, Search for Truth, written between 1941 and 1942, Price claimed he was involved with archaeological excavations in Greenwich Park, London but in earlier writings on Greenwich denied he had a hand in the excavation.

The above is from Harry's Wikipedia entry. You can read more on Haryy Price here.

an interview with Harry Price:

Scientist Claims Proof Of Afterlife

Scientist Claims Proof Of Afterlife

Research Finds Accuracy Of Mediums Channeling Dead People

CLEVELAND -- What happens after we die -- do we continue on or is this life the end?

Many of us hope there is an afterlife, and now some Arizona scientists say they have proof through their afterlife experiments.

There are many people who say they have died and come back to life. They claim to have experienced an afterlife, even if for only a short time.
Scientists at The University of Arizona have done extensive research, and say that they have the proof that when we die we continue to live beyond our physical bodies.

"Almost anyone who sees the data says there's something real here," said one of the researchers.

Allison Dubois is a spiritual medium, or someone thought to be able to communicate with the dead.

Christine Vettore was brought in for a reading with Dubois, who attempted to contact Vettore's dead relatives.
"I'm hopeful that there's an afterlife so I can see everybody I've lost already," said Vettore.

It doesn't take long -- within seconds, Dubois says Vettore's daughter is coming through.

It is a gift Dubois says she's had her whole life, but it comes with a lot of criticism.

"I think there are some people that are Charlatans, and with any profession there's going to be some bad apples, so I mean that just goes with the territory, so the ones that are accurate and are legitimate just have to prove themselves," said Dubois.

This reading is part of a science experiment -- Dr. Gary Schwartz, of the University of Arizona, is observing.

The Harvard-trained doctor looked for what he calls hits and misses, or the accuracy of the reading.

He's building on his hypothesis that there is life after death, and that mediums can talk to those who have died. After Vettore's daughter is contacted, Dubois contacted Vettore's brother and mother. She is able nail facts, giving details about the relations that she could not have known beforehand.

For instance, Dubois tells Vettore that her mother knows there's a carrot cake and a bowl of peanuts in her house.

Read more here.

Judge Edmonds

Judge John Worth Edmonds (1816-1874)

John W. Edmonds was one of the most influential early American Spiritualists. After a great public career, as a member of both branches of the New York State Legislature and, for some time, President of the Senate and Judge of the Supreme Court of New York, he resigned the latter position on account of the outcry raised against his Spiritualistic beliefs and, especially, his support of the Fox sisters.


His interest in the Rochester knockings was aroused in early 1851, and the first account of his experiences was published on August 1, 1853, in the New York Courier, in an article "To the Public." In this article, in order to meet the constant attacks against him by the Press, he confessed his complete conversion to Spiritualism and related his experiences. This bold step aroused a tremendous sensation, and a furious controversy arose.

In a letter published in the New York Herald, on August 6, 1853, he wrote:

"I went into the investigation originally thinking it a deception, and intending to make public my exposure of it. Having from my researches come to a different conclusion, I feel that the obligation to make known the result is just as strong. Therefore it is, mainly, that I give the result to the world. I say mainly because there is another consideration which influences me, and that is, the desire to extend to others a knowledge which I am conscious cannot but make them happier and better."

The Fox Sisters

His investigations into mediumship were logical, hard, and indicative of a man of the law. He was very shrewd, and, consistently, his conclusions were the same: spirit out of body can and does communicate with spirit in body.

From: First Spiritual Temple

As time passed on, Judge Edmonds developed mediumship himself. Between the years 1853 and 1854, within a small circle formed with a few close friends, he received many spirit messages and communications. The chief communicators were alleged to be Swedenborg and Bacon.

Science explains materializations

Victor Zammit has a fascinating piece on materializations on his website : Some of you would know that my partner Wendy and I, who are both professionally qualified in Scientific Method and Psychology, have been attending and investigating David Thompson's materializations for almost five years now. We need to remember that it was materializations which convinced some of the greatest scientists this world has ever seen of the existence of the afterlife. I can tell you from personal experience that even if you believe in the afterlife nothing can prepare you for the reality of that first experience of materialization. On more than seventy occasions we have seen guests to the circle speaking directly with and touching their loved ones from the spirit world.

Read more at Victor's website Friday Afterlife Report : here.

Medium Elwood Babbitt lectures at Amherst College

In the later part of the 20th century, Elwood Babbitt carved out a niche for himself in the domain of deep-trance mediumship. Though not as widely-known as Edgar Cayce, Babbitt’s predictions concerning climate change, pole shift, and ancient civilizations caused many to take notice. Some of these have already come to pass. Do you consider predictions to be true and factual, or wild-ass guesses that happen to coincide with reality, and why?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH 'CLOSED-MINDED ORTHODOX SCIENTISTS?

 More from Viktor J Zammit's Friday Afterlife Report

We are still having problems with conservative scientists these days. We must never forget the huge blunders made by 'closed minded' scientists who stubbornly refused to investigate the evidence of a new discovery or invention which was contrary to their own cherised beliefs. We remember that these stubborn negative scientists got together, in the name of orthodox American science.

Thai Cannes winner steeped in Spiritualism

Reuters : Like most of his feature films, Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" is set in Issan province, where he grew up. It playfully invokes both the lifestyle and animistic beliefs of the Northeast country folk, and the primitive magic of early Thai cinema, relating both of these to his musings on reincarnation.

Since commercial returns or widespread support have never been factored into Weerasethakul's career, its surprise win of the Palme d'Or Sunday will seal its favorable future in festivals and specialist releases.
Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) who is afflicted with acute kidney failure, returns to his country estate in Isan to spend his last days under the care of his devoted yet no-nonsense sister-in-law Jen (Jenjiro Pongpas), nephew Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee) and Jaai, a Burmese worker.

One evening, while the family is relaxing on their terrace, the apparition of Boonmee's dead wife Huay (Nattakarn Aphaiwonk) appears, followed by long-lost son Boonsong. Boonsong, who looks like a Yeti with red laser beam eyes, recounts how his interest in photography led him deep into the jungle in search of Monkey Ghosts, until he himself is transformed into one.

The matter-of-fact way in which the humans interact with dead or otherworldly beings make for some deadpan humor: upon seeing Thuy in halogenic form and Boonsong in a rubbery gorilla suit, Tong remarks, "I feel like the strange one here." There is also eerie poignancy in the way spiritual beings hover around Boonmee as they sense his impending transition to another world.

The film was inspired by a book by a Buddhist abbot recording accounts of people who remembered their past lives. Although Boonmee attributes his illness to the karma of his having killed too many "Commies" and rid his farm of bugs, Weerasethakul does not broach the subject in terms of causality or retribution, nor does he tie Boonmee's past lives to any tangible persona or timeline. The cave which becomes his resting place is also where his first life began. The crucial point he recalls is that at his genesis, he was "neither human nor animal, neither man nor woman."

This makes the structure free-floating and esoteric, incorporating myth (underwater sex between a facially-tainted princess and a catfish), politics (photographs of soldiers hinting at military-related human disappearances) and parallel worlds (Tong and Jen in different places at the same time).
This view of reincarnation as all beings coexisting in one non-linear universal consciousness is also central to Apitchatpong's conception of cinema as the medium with the power to replay past lives and connect the human world to animal or spiritual ones. That may be why he shot the last scenes involving parallel worlds in 16mm, as homage to the format of film in his childhood memory. His casting of actors or roles (like a monk, a Burmese worker) from previous films in also a kind of reincarnation of the director's cinematic past lives.

The director's film language has always been experimental, intuitive and personal to the point of mystical (or mystifying to a mainstream non-Thai audience). By comparison, "Uncle Boonmee" employs less difficult cinema vocabulary, staying away from any avant garde filming technique and allowing one to tune into its sleepy, meditative frequency. The natural locations (especially the cave glittering in the dark) exude cosmic energy, while sound extracted from wildlife plays as significant a role as an animate being.    

Mind blowing power of love

THE mystery behind the ''sixth sense'' - how people interact on a physiological level - is a step closer to being unravelled, according to a Sydney neuroscientist.
A five-year study monitoring brain activity during therapy sessions has shown that two people can become physiologically aligned - parts of their nervous systems beating in harmony - despite having no physical contact with each another.
Trisha Stratford, the neuropsychotherapist who did the research at University of Technology, Sydney, said her study provided a deeper understanding of what happened when people interacted, including when a couple fell in love.
Ms Stratford said her research could also provide clues about how best to communicate with or ''chat up'' a potential partner using this sixth sense, which has long been suggested but never extensively identified in science.
She observed 30 volunteers using electrocardiography and a monitor on the finger to measure skin conductance resonance to identify the moment of alignment or ''oneness'' during individual counselling with a therapist.
Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald

B. Anne Gehman

Anne Gehman

Psychic medium B. Anne Gehman gave her first spirit readings to her teddy bears at age five. Raised in the Mennonite tradition, she left home at age 14 to finish her schooling. A life-changing near-death experience led Anne to develop her natural gifts, including an uncanny ability to predict future events. She has gained international attention for her help in solving crimes, locating oil and missing persons, healing illnesses, and connecting family members with their loved ones in spirit. She has worked with top government agencies and officials, police departments, judges, and corporate CEOs. She was elected to the International Congress of Parapsychologists and Paraphysics in Prague, Czechoslovakia and is listed among the Top 100 Psychics in the Country. She has worked with the University of Arizona on a research study regarding after death communication, which is documented in the book, The Afterlife Experiments by Dr. Gary Schwartz. An ordained Spiritualist minister, Anne is the Pastor of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment in Falls Church, Virginia
.Read more at Hay House.

The Kings Speech

"The King's Speech" won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, giving the  film, directed by Tom Hooper some early momentum heading into Oscar awards season. The film starring Colin Firth as Britain's reluctant King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist, captured the festival's People's Choice award.

The film is about HRH Duke of York who was cured of a speech impediment by an Australian speech therapist Lionel  George Logue.(1880-1953).

Less well known about the illustrious Logue is that he was also a dedicated Spiritualist towards the end of his life who discovered the faith after his wife's death in 1945. It has also long been rumoured that many members of the British Royal Family are believers in Spiritualism.

Watch an interview here with Colin Firth about the film.

More from the Spiritualist Gordon Higginson

Gordon Higginson Demonstration

A fascinating article from the Daily Mail newpaper in the UK

The 9/11 victims who foresaw their deaths: On the ninth anniversary, a book by a Twin Towers widow claims many victims had premonitions of the atrocity.

By Bonnie Mceneaney

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Eamon, my 46-year-old husband, had a sudden attack of vertigo as he prepared to go to work. Such attacks weren't unprecedented, but Eamon hadn't had one for more than a year.

I wanted him to stay home, but characteristically he wouldn't. A determined and dutiful man, he pressed on, pausing only to say 'see you later' before heading out to begin the two-hour dawn commute he so hated from our home in Connecticut to downtown New York.

Eamon worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services conglomerate, on Floor 105 of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre. Neither I nor our four adored and adoring children would ever see him again.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1310994/The-9-11-victims-foresaw-deaths-New-book-claims-victims-premonitions-atrocity.html#ixzz0zBHICnFT

Victor J. Zammitt - a lawyer who presents his case for the afterlife

 Victor J.Zammtt is an Australian lawyer who is also an enthusiastic supporter of the belief in life after death. He has authored a book on the subject and has a website full of interesting articles and news.

COMMENTARY: WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE GREAT SCIENTISTS AND MEDIUMS WHO PROVED THE AFTERLIFE EXISTS

Those who are interested in the afterlife should never forget that for over a hundred years some of the most brilliant minds in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Brazil - and other countries - have worked quietly to accumulate evidence of survival after death. 

To read more go to Victor's website here.

The Psychic Times

 The Psychic Times is a world-wide popular newspaper that can be now read on-line 

Here is part of an article from the current issue of The Psychic Times- click on this link to read more.

Cardiologist Pens Book About Near Death Experiences

Critically acclaimed author Dr  M.S. Rawlings, author of Beyond Death’s Door and To Hell and Back, has just released his latest publication, Where Are You Going? (paperback, 978-1-60477-853-3) through Christian self-publisher Xulon Press.

Rawlings, a leading Chattanooga-based cardiologist who himself was resuscitated following a heart attack, had originally been an agnostic and a cynic. But something happened to him that changed his life. While applying CPR on a patient who was screaming that he was in hell, the author watched as the “transforming power of Jesus Christ came upon the man.”

Stansted Hall & the Spiritualists' National Union

Stansted Hall, built in 1871, was gifted to the Spiritualists' National Union by J. Arthur Findlay, MBE, JP, a former Honorary President of the Union, and in accordance with his wishes is administered by the Union as a College for the advancement of Psychic Science.

Mr Findlay bought the estate in 1923 upon his retirement from business and first mooted the idea of a Spiritualist College at Stansted to the Union in 1945. After personal contacts with three successive Union Presidents a will was drawn up and in 1954 the National Council accepted the proposed bequest of Stansted Hall with an endowment. This was followed by a later gift in the form of stock to be used for furnishing and decorating, and in 1964, a year after the death of his wife, Mr Findlay transferred the Hall, grounds and endowment to the Union. Mr Findlay passed to the higher life in July 1964.

The Arthur Findlay College offers facilities unequalled anywhere in the world in the Spiritualist movement as a residential centre where students can study Spiritualist philosophy and religious practice, Spiritualist healing and awareness, spiritual and psychic unfolding and kindred disciplines. Courses, lectures and demonstrations are all offered by leading exponents, together with the additional features of a library, museum, lake, magnificent grounds, recreational facilities and full board accommodation.

Psychic TV

Psychic TV: For those who have not attended a service in a church this film from the UK will give you an idea of what a reading is like :

The KGB psychic files

ghost photos

 

 

"Here is a sampling of some of my favorite ghost photos I've encountered over the last few years. These are the photos I consider the most authentic "captures" of ghosts ever caught on film, but I leave it to you to decide for yourself how authentic they may be."

 

Read more and see some more 'spirit' photos at :

http://www.ourcuriousworld.com/FavGhostPXs.htm

Psychic discovers woman's torso

Psychic searching for Kiesha discovers woman's torso 

"A self-professed psychic looking for missing Sydney girl Kiesha Abrahams visited a reserve in Doonside and discovered the torso of a woman.
Police revealed today that the psychic, a local woman whose name was not released, went to Nurragingy Reserve at Knox Road last night because she had a "hunch" that the missing six-year-old girl’s body might be there."
Read more at the Sydney Morning Herald.                           __________________________________________________________

There has been a further development in this story.  

The woman who found the body was an Aboriginal elder, Cheryl Lagerwey 

Elders in Australian Aboriginal culture are the most respected in their various tribes and are regarded as the persons with the most wisdom needed to guide people through life and advise on various difficulties encountered along this journey we are on.

A examination of Australian Indigenous beliefs reveals a remarkable number of similarities with the beliefs of Spiritualism.

There is possibly one difference. Elders are not those who seek publicity or have a desire to profit from their wisdom. 

One aspect of this remarkable story is that Cheryl Lagerwey did not seek publicity or speak to the media. Her name was released by the police as is their normal practice to keep the public  notified of movements in an investigation. Police took Ms Lagerwey's claim very seriously when she contacted them and travelled to the spot she had located and discovered the body. 

How pleasing to know that in our police force who protect us there are those who believe strongly enough in what sometimes is not so apparent in a material sense.

There is a large Indigenous community in the Mount Druitt area where the body was found and it is a credit to the NSW Police that they are wiling to pay respect to their local community in this way.

Psychic News

We have received a further communication from the Psychic News with the following information :

"Dear Customer,
Please ignore the email regarding the online bookshop which contained some erroneous information on ordering.
The online bookshop is closed for further business. You may still browse the content and contact us for

advice on where to order your books in future.
We apologise for any confusion caused by the previous mailing.
Regards
Online bookshop team"
                        *******************************

 I think all Spiritualists will send their very best wishes to the Psychic News  with the hope that it is back on track soon.
As a newspaper than many of us have followed for decades ,
it's always been a fascinating read full of interesting articles.

 As to obtaining books,tapes,DVDs etc in Sydney-you can probably
do no better than visiting our friends at the

Adyar Bookshop - Australia's largest mind body spirit bookshop at
Mezanine level, 99 Bathurst St Sydney (see map)  

## put a couple of hours aside for a visit if you can.
The shop is packed with fascinating books !

PROFESSOR ARTHUR ELLISON

From the website of Victor J. Zammit-the well known Australian lawyer and Spiritualist:

PROFESSOR ARTHUR ELLISON (1920-2000) Arthur Ellison was a distinguished voice in paranormal research and Emeritus Professor of engineering at the City University in London. He joined the Society for Psychical Research in 1955 and was twice president of the Society. For some years he was was Chairman of the Theosophical Research Centre and its Science Group. Once drawn towards a paranormal phenomenon, he had the engineer's skill to explore it with carefully designed experiments. He stressed the need for scientists not only to study psychic events in others, but to try to develop those experiences in themselves. He himself underwent OBE's, lucid dreaming and clairvoyant episodes. He ran a training course in parapsychology each summer at Loughborough University and published widely in engineering and in psychical research. He died in 2000.

read more at Victor's website here

Psychic News

The Psychic News, probably the 

foremost Spiritualist

newspaper in the world 

has sent the following info :

Dear Customer,
The Psychic News online bookshop is currently 

closed for new orders, however you can still 

browse the site and place an order direct with us,

subject to availability.
For availability and to order please contact us on:
 
Tel: 44 (0)1279 817050
 Fax: 44 (0)1279 817051
 Email: psychicnews1@btconnect.com
 
We will notify you as soon as normal service is resumed.
 
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
 Thank you for your custom
         **************************************************

Regular readers may recall that the Psychic News  

is published in association with the

Arthur Findlay College at Stanstead Hall 

 That newspaper ran a front page story last year  in which the President of the Church, Reverend Patricia Cleary was vindicated in the court case in the Supreme Court last year in November (you can read that judgement by clicking on the link at the right). That story was read throughout the world and Rev Cleary was contacted by dozens of Spiritualists from afar as Russia , Spain and Turkey !

Stanstead Hall

The story was first checked by a retired  Judge of the British court system who is also a Spiritualist who verified all facts with all parties before allowing that story to appear and we thank them warmly for that and for the many well wishes that the Church received from various members of Stanstead Hall who know Reverend Cleary by reputation or who have met her when visiting Australia

We also take the opportunity to once again thank the many members , Ministers and committee members of the SNU Spiritualist Churches in the UK who offered their support last year and continue to this year.

*********************************

We would also like to point out that medium Sandi Clark (who studied at the Arthur Findlay College) who was due to appear at Enmore in May (she had to cancel due to the then troubles in Bangkok) will be in Adelaide in September this year.

You can contact Sandi at her website . Sandi's classes are always well attended so get in early !

What Is Spiritualism ?

"Spiritualism is the Science, Philosophy, and Religion of continuous life based upon the demonstrated fact of communication by means of mediumship with those who live in the Spirit World".

Spiritualist believe that those in the Spirit World can and do communicate after they have made the change called death.  Through mediumship, we can connect with loved ones, guides, and teachers on the other side of the veil.  We can be comforted by talking to our loved ones; we can be helped by instructions from our guides; and we can be taught important life lessons by Master Teachers.

Spiritualism is much more than communicating with those in the Spirit World.  Spiritualism is a way of living our lives to the fullest extent possible through an understanding of Natural Law.  We believe in a Father-Mother God that loves us and works with us to provide a progressive incarnation.  We understand that we are responsible for our own actions and, due to the Law of Karma, harvest the rewards.  We strive to be non-judgmental.

We know that there is a thread of truth that runs through all religions and by being familiar with many religions, we come to celebrate the similarities of all.  We consider Jesus the Christ to be our Wayshower and Elder Brother and also embrace the teachings of other Masters.  We believe that all sacred texts all valid and worthy.

We understand that there are many paths to the Divine and encourage each individual to find his/her own way.

Spiritualism

• 
  
  Teaches personal responsibility.
• Removes fear of death, death is just a change of personal existence and identity.
• Helps us communicate with those beyond in the realms of spirit.
• Brings to the surface man's spiritual gifts and potentials, allowing us to demonstrate mediumistic skills, healing, prophecy, and to learn more of who we truly are.
• Teaches as a flower unfolds in beauty, so does the spirit of man unfold in the spirit spheres.
• Brings the understanding that man is a spiritual being now, even while encased in this physical body.
• Teaches the spark of divinity dwells in all things.
• Brings comfort to man knowing that we can connect to others in spirit, because of the continuity of life after death.
• Opens the doorways to many other worlds beyond our perspectives on these planes.

 courtesy-First Spiritualist Church of Lansing

The Psychic twins who predicted 9/11

The Psychic Twins Terry and Linda Jamison

Russell Targ on "remote viewing"

Russell Targ is an American physicist and author, an ESP researcher, and pioneer in the earliest development of the laser. At the Stanford Research Institute in the 1970s and 1980s, Targ and his colleague Harold E. Puthoff co-founded a 23-year, $25-million program of research into psychic abilities and their operational use for the U.S. intelligence community, including the CIA, Defence Intelligence Agency and Army Intelligence. These abilities are referred to collectively as "remote viewing

Henry S. Olcott, co-founder of the Theosophical Society,

We thank Australian lawyer Victor Zammit for bringing this to our attention.

Henry S. Olcott, cofounder of the Theosophical Society, was a hardnosed investigative lawyer and agricultural scientist who accepted the assignment of two New York newspapers to investigate the spirit materializations being produced by the Eddy brothers of Chittenden,Vermont in 1874. During his sixteen week investigation Olcott witnessed the materialization of over 400 different entities from the next realm of existence. His reports, together with Sir William Crookes similar experiences, produced a sensation throughout the United States and Europe. Olcott's careful observations and tests have been called one of the most thorough and meticulous ever undertaken of the phenomena. A shorter part two of the book deals with Olcott's tests of the Holmes' of Philadelphia through whom the famous Katie King and John King personalities were manifesting.

there are some free e-books which can be downloaded here

T.G. Hamilton's Photos of Ectoplasm

Gordon Higginson

One of Britain's most famous mediums talks on Spiritualism :