Emma Hardinge-another Spiritualist pioneer

Emma Hardinge Britten (1823-1899) is, perhaps, the most renowned and most respected advocate and proponent in the early Modern Spiritualist Movement. She was the daughter of Captain Floyd Hardinge, whom writers call a seafaring man. Early in her life, she had shown gifts as a musician, singer, and speaker. In fact, at age 11 she was earning her living as a music teacher.
Under contract with a theatrical company, she went to America in 1856 where, through the mediumship of Miss Ada Hoyt (Mrs. Coan), she became converted to the Spiritualist philosophy. There, she began developing her own abilities as a medium and sat publicly for the Society for the Diffusion of Spiritual Knowledge of New York (what a wonderful name).
As a young medium, she furnished one of the best attested cases of early Spirit return. A member of the crew of the mail steamer, Pacific, which had sunk in the ocean, controlled young Emma and, in trance, disclosed the facts of the tragedy. Because of the nature of the details given through her mediumship, Emma Hardinge was threatened with prosecution by the owners of the boat when the story was made public, but all the details were found to be true and accurate.
Her mediumistic gifts embraced automatic and inspirational writing, psychometry, healing, prophecy, and inspirational speaking. She was best known for her inspirational addresses, which were very eloquent, inspiring, and informative. They were given completely extempore, and the subject was generally chosen in the auditorium by a committee from the audience.
Most historians agree that, as a propagandist for Spiritualism, she was unequaled in her zeal, commitment, and enthusiasm. For years she traveled all over the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and New Zealand, expounding the truths of Spiritualism and related areas of thought.

Spiritualist Village of Lily Dale, New York

A quick look at the unique Spiritualist village of Lily Dale in New York State. Lily Dale is open in summers and has many small cottages and hotels where Spiritualist congregate from all over the world.


Watch the full series of films on Lily Dale at youtube.

'Ghost' photos with Maurice Grosse

Maurice Grosse (6 March 1919  - 14 October 2006) was a well know British paranormal investigator. After serving in WW2 and being evacuated from Dunkirk Grosse became a successful inventor and following a tragic accident in which his daughter died in 1975, several members of his family began to experience paranormal activity.

Maurice joined the Society for Psychical Research and the Ghost Club and was involved with a famous case called the Enfield Poltegeist during which an old man appeared to talk through an 11year old girl. Grosse stayed with the family in Enfield and taped a lot of paranormal activity. Despite various people accusing the case of being a fraud no-one took up Grosse's challenge and offer of a thousand pounds reward to prove that the activity was faked.

Here is part of a TV program which featured Maurice Grosse after he had passed away in which he discusses various instances of ghosts appearing in photographs.

A Spiritualist pioneer : John W. Edmonds

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. 

Read more at The First Spiritual Temple 

Move over Judge Judy for the Psychic Court

Larry Seidlin, the unflappable judge who gained fame and notoriety when he presided over the Anna Nicole Smith trial, will become the first TV judge to open his court to the paranormal as a means for uncovering the truth. In addition to relying on his years of judicial experience, Seidlin will be enlisting the help of those with extrasensory, clairvoyant and telepathic powers to help him decide cases.  
“I’m opening my courtroom to those who deal in paranormal activities as a way to help uncover evidence and assist me in determining who’s telling the truth,” said Seidlin. “Psychics, clairvoyants, and the telepathic are much like judges in that they possess tremendous intuition. I often rely on my intuition to determine who’s being truthful and who's lying, and in 'Psychic Court' I'll benefit from the assistance of those who are experienced in the paranormal. It’s going to be amazing.”
The new court series will be produced in high definition and distributed by Mighty Oak Entertainment.

Why Spiritualism Is Important Today, More Than Ever

Why Spiritualism Is Important Today, More Than Ever

Spiritualists come from every walk of life. We are bankers, builders, nurses, teachers, bookkeepers, sales clerks, electricians - any and all professions are attracted to Spiritualism. Every place you find thinking men and women coming together, you will find Spiritualists. Spiritualism is a science, philosophy and religion that satisfies both your logic, your mind and your heart. As the population contemplates the current conditions in the world today, they are seeking a greater understanding of the purpose of life and what can be done to improve individual life situations and the circumstances of the world. Spiritualism gives a person the key that can be used to find the answers she/he seeks. Spiritualism provides the knowledge that by using prayer and meditation, we can become more aware of our responsibilities to ourselves and to others. Through this inner awareness and guidance received through spirit communications, a person takes the necessary actions to improve his or her own life and contributes to the improved welfare of the entire human race.

Spiritualism is the KEY that sets humanity free! Free to live and grow in the physical through love and law; and free because we know that life is continuous, the spirit never dies. "There is no death, there are no dead."

Early Spiritualists Like Harry Houdini Brought Hope of Afterlife

Whether you are a skeptic or a firm believer in the afterlife, you have to admit that there have been some documented weird happenings in the area of spiritualism.

Unexplained phenomena during séances made way for early spiritualists to either become famous for their abilities to communicate with the dead, or began a witch hunt of skeptics out to prove that these people were frauds.

Unfortunately, most of them were.

I take you back to one of the earliest recordings of American spiritualism, 1848, Hydesville, New York. Two little girls, the Fox sisters, heard rapping noises coming from their closet. They told their parents and long story short, flocks of visitors began to come see or hear the noises for themselves. No one was ever able to validate whether or not these noises were spirits, (the girls confessed to the trickery 40 years later) but in less than five years over 25,000 peoples claimed to have psychic ability, and so was born the spiritualist movement in America.

These spiritualist mediums set up elaborate hoaxes to prey on the lovelorn and desperate, agreeing to contact deceased relatives and allow that spirit to temporarily posses their body in order to communicate with the living. This was a lucrative business, so much so that for a price one could order all the tricks of the trade, from fake hands-to be placed on the shoulders of unsuspecting séance guests-to machines that emitted spooky sounds.

In order to prove their validity as mediums, some of these so called psychics allowed themselves to be tested- including locked in water tight containers and left to escape, supposedly using their spirit guides for help. This caught the attention of several stage magicians, who set out to prove that the mediums escapes were parlor tricks and slight of hand-the most famous of these skeptics was Harry Houdini.

During the years of Harry Houdini, spiritualism was at its height in America; we were at war, and desperate families of loved ones missing or killed in action were seeking out mediums for answers to life beyond death. Harry became a crusader to prove that anyone who practiced could achieve the same miraculous escapes, noises, and trickery- and ousted hundreds of fakes during his lifetime.

We want to believe that our deceased loved ones are happy wherever they are, we need to believe it, and it gives us hope. And some of today's psychics truly want to use their gift to help people; I believe many of them are real and sincere.

Today we are besieged once again by people claiming to be able to contact the dead. TV psychics and modern day phone clairvoyants again can on the desperate-at $2.99 a minute, continuing the tradition started by early spiritualists. Believe, seek comfort, but keep your hand on your pocket book unless your intuitive consultant comes from the heart and has great credentials.

Everyone has the capability to tap into their intuition, such as many of the early spiritualists. Some people are much better than others. Why not invest in yourself, and learn how to develop your own intuitive abilities, this way you will know through your own senses what is truth for you.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle visited Australia in 1921 and gave his farwell address at the Enmore and Stanmore United Spiritualist Church which eventually became the Enmore Spiritualist Church.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was called the "St. Paul" of Spiritualism. He was a prolific writer on the subject and an avid proponent. And, of course, he is renowned for his Sherlock Holmes stories.

Sir Arthur's introduction to the occult took place while he was a physician at Southsea, United Kingdom. During the years 1885 to 1888, he was invited to participate in table turning sittings at the home of one of his patients, General Drayson, a teacher at the Greenwich Naval College. The medium was a railway signalman, and some amazing phenomena and apportations took place.

The phenomena were, quite frankly, too amazing for Sir Arthur, and he underrated both the honesty of the medium and the intelligence of the sitters. Nonetheless, his interest was aroused.

Shortly thereafter, he joined the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and carried out a series of experiments with a Mrs. Ball. From these experiments, Sir Arthur was convinced that telepathy was genuine. As far as survival and mediumship were concerned, in 1902, when he first met Sir Oliver Lodge, he had not arrived at any definite conclusions. However, Myers' classic, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death, made a deep impression upon him.

For nearly 30 years, Sir Arthur continued his studies and investigations. Finally, at the peak of his literary career, at approximately the age of 58, he took a decisive step and wrote The New Revelation and The Vital Message. In these books, he firmly associated himself with the cause of Modern Spiritualism.

His critics -- and there were many -- attributed his newly found faith to bereavement suffered during the war; he vehemently denied these statements. His youngest son, Kingsley, died of pneumonia during the war. A year after his son's death, he attended a sitting held by a Welsh medium; there, his son spoke to him. Later on, he stated: "It was his voice and he spoke of concerns unknown to the medium." Shortly after this, he saw his mother and nephew, in his words: "As plainly as I ever saw them in life!" The cynic would call his jump into Spiritualism nothing more than a manifestation of grief. The clear-headed thinker would see this as an answer to his prayers and worries. Thank God for us all that Sir Arthur was a clear-headed thinker.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most substantive book on Spiritualism is the two-volume set, The History of Spiritualism. This is an absolute must-read for all students of the subject. Within its pages, he discusses a wide range of subjects and personalities linked with the Modern Spiritualist Movement, both in America and the United Kingdom.

Addressing the remarks of his critics, he writes in The History of Spiritualism the following:

"The sight of the world which was distraught with sorrow and which was eagerly asking for help and knowledge, did certainly affect my mind and cause me to understand that these psychic studies, which I had so long pursued, were of immense practical importance and could no longer be regarded as a mere intellectual hobby or fascinating pursuit of a novel research. It was this realization which, from early in 1916, caused me and my wife to devote ourselves largely to this subject, to lecture upon it in many countries, and to travel to Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada upon missions of instruction."

Further on, he declared:

"As for the charge of credulity which is invariable directed by the unreceptive against anyone who forms a positive opinion upon this subject, I can solemnly aver that in the course of my long career as an investigator, I cannot recall one single case where it was clearly shown that I had been mistaken upon any serious point, or had given a certificate of honesty to a performance which was afterwards clearly proved to be dishonest. A man who is credulous does not take twenty years of reading and experiment before he comes to his fixed conclusions."

We cringe at Sir Arthur's use of the word performance; however, this statement bears great weight upon his support for the cause.

He began his mission in 1918, with visits to most of the major cities of Great Britain. Then, during 1920 and 1921, he visited Australia and New Zealand. Early in 1922, he went to America and toured the Eastern states; the following year, he traveled as far as California. In 1928, he left for South Africa, and in the autumn of that same year, he preached Spiritualism in the Northern countries of Europe.

Let it not be said that his promulgation of Spiritualism did not come without a price. He expended a tremendous amount of physical and emotional energy. Furthermore, it is estimated that the decline in his literary output, because of his devotion to Spiritualism, translated into a loss of approximately £200,000, an amazing amount of money for the time.

Sir Arthur was not exempt from professional conflicts either. During 1922, when the Society for Psychical Research was invloved in a scandal surrounding spirit photographer, William Hope, Sir Arthur stood up valiantly in defense of Mr. Hope. This caused a riff between him and the prestigious S.P.R. His association with the S.P.R. was further antagonized by Theodore Besterman's review of Mrs. Hack's Modern Miracles at Millesimo Castle. Finally, believing that the honor of Ernesto Bozzano, investigator of the famous Italian medium, Eusapia Paladino, and a close friend, was compromised by the Society, Sir Arthur resigned his membership. This resignation widened the already growing gulf between Spiritualists of the day and psychic researchers. This caused many Spiritualists to resign their membership to the S.P.R.

At the International Spiritualist Congress, held in Paris, in 1925, Sir Arthur was nominated Honorary President. In the same year, he had a public discussion, in London, with Sir Arthur Keith on Spiritualism. He won many points during this public debate.

It was during Sir Arthur's Presidency of the London Spiritualist Alliance that Mrs. Cantlon, one of the mediums sanctioned by the Alliance, was charged with fortune-telling (quite illegal at the time). When the Alliance was assessed with costs amounting to £800, he voiced a vigorous protest in The London Times, alleging that this was nothing more than an organized persecution of Spiritualists. He, then, started a drive for the modification of the Fortune Telling Act; and, on July 1, 1930, he led a petition to Council. Six days later, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle passed to Spirit.

True to his ways, even death did not silence him. On July 13, 1930, a large reunion was held in Albert Hall, London. A chair was left empty in honor of Sir Arthur. Estelle Roberts, one of England's finest and most respected mediums, said that she saw clairvoyantly Conan Doyle in the chair and offered a personal message from the great writer to his family; they accepted the message as evidential.

Since then -- and, unfortunately, as is the case amongst so many Spiritualists -- numerous mediums, on both sides of the Atlantic, claim to have given spirit messages from Sir Arthur. Most were simply the renderings of psychic spot-lighters. However, one communication was very evidential, very revealing, and quite noteworthy. In fact, it so impressed psychic researcher and officer of the American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR), Harry Price, that he discussed the communication in the January, 1931, issue of the Nash Magazine, under the title of "The Return of Conan Doyle." The medium who had given this communication was the prestigious Eileen J. Garrett.

In an address before members of the London Spiritualist Alliance, in October, 1931, Sir Oliver Lodge (author of the Raymond series) best summed up Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's views and approach to Spiritualism and Spiritualist phenomena as follows:

"His methods are not mine, he regarded himself as a missionary, a trustee of a great truth which he felt bound to with others, whether they would receive it or whether they would reject and ridicule it, but one cannot but admire the completeness and self-sacrificing character of his life and doctrines. Occasionally, I think, he lacked the wisdom of the serpent, but the goodness of his motives must be manifest to all."

Truer words could not be echoed regarding this remarkable figure in the history of Modern Spiritualism.

A lovely Obituary Note was written by Dr. L.R.G. Crandon, husband of Boston's famous physical medium, Margery Crandon, in the August, 1930, issue of Psychic Research, the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Further on, in that same issue, researcher Harry Price, wrote the following:

"The passing of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at 9:15 a.m. on July 7th, 1930 removes the greatest personality spiritualism ever possessed -- or is ever likely to possess. By sheer personal determination he raised the subject of psychic phenomena into the arena of acute controversy -- and kept it there."

Dr. Crandon, who, with his wife, Margery, had become very close friends and associates with Sir Arthur and Lady Doyle, gave a most touching tribute in the Obituary Note referenced above. He wrote:

"On Monday, July 7, 1930, the world of literature, story telling, happy-home living, and the world of Spiritualism lost a leader. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has passed over.

"So many will write obituaries of him in general terms that it will be perhaps of value for us to write of him in a more personal way.

"The Margery Group has lost a tireless champion. From the first Sir Arthur's big Celtic heart has appreciated Margery's work and has fought for it whenever challenged."

He ended his tribute with the following:

"July 7, 1930, the day of his going over, the Margery Group held a seance, and, for the first time in over three years, Walter did not come through. A perfectly reasonable (not evidential) explanation was given by Mark, one of Walter's helpers, who manifested himself at this sitting. He said, in effect: 'Walter is busy as one of a reception committee to a great Spirit, newly arrived.'

"And so he has passed for a time, serving in a new sphere, we have no doubt, and immortal in our hearts, we are sure."

Books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, other than the Sherlock Holmes series, include:

The New Revelation, 1918;
The Vital Message, 1919;
Wanderings of a Spiritualist, 1921;
The Coming of the Fairies, 1922;
Our American Adventure, 1923;
Our Second American Adventure, 1923;
Memories and Adventures, 1924;
Spiritualists' Readers, 1924;
The Land of Mist, 1926;
History of Spiritualism, 1926;
The Case for Spirit Photography, 1924;
Pheneas Speaks, 1927;
Our African Winter, 1929;
The Edge of the Unknown, 1930.

Oprah Winfrey under attack over her Spiritual beliefs

 It comes with the territory for one of the biggest names on television but Oprah Winfrey is being attacked again for her beliefs in a new book by an evangelist considered to be from the 'Christian Right" in the USA.

The book's blurb goes:

'O' God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah's Spirituality provides an in-depth look at one of the greatest media influences of all time: the empire of Oprah. Between The Oprah Winfrey Show and O Magazine, millions of people are exposed to Oprah's spiritual beliefs. Christians and those of other faiths are asking tough questions and looking for answers. McDowell and Sterrett approach the spirituality of Oprah by means of a fictional narrative featuring conversation between two friends. The spiritual conversation begins when the two girls get together to discuss spiritual issues. By using stories to address the deeper issues raised in the spiritual conversations held by Oprah and her friends, McDowell and Sterrett disarm and entertain their readers while also revealing biblical truths and exposing the errant teachings and misconceptions of Oprah. McDowell, a mega-bestselling Christian author and evangelist, teams up with Sterrett, a gifted writer and popular speaker, to broach a serious subject with a wise, balanced, easy-to-read approach. McDowell and Sterrett help readers to discern the truth about the spirituality of Oprah.

Stansted Hall

The Arthur Findlay College

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.

Silverchair drummer marries a psychic !

SILVERCHAIR drummer Ben Gillies married Jakica Ivancevic in their home city of Newcastle yesterday, 15 years after they met as teenagers.

Gillies, 30, beamed after exchanging vows with Ivancevic, 30, in Christ Church Cathedral, flanked by his best men, Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns and talent scout Jake Denny. Johns's partner, model Louise Van de Vorst, Silverchair bandmate Chris Joannou and his Great Outdoors girlfriend Laura Csortan, manager John Watson and ABC3 and MTV personality Mitchell Tomlinson looked on.

Ben Gillies above left

''Jakica is the girl of my dreams. I never thought this was possible,'' Gillies told The Sun-Herald before departing for his honeymoon in Puerto Rico. ''Jaki is the girl I've always dreamed of - everything I've ever wanted in a girl. She doesn't limit me, she's an amazing person, she has a beautiful heart, she can have a laugh, she dances and has fun and just loves life. I would have been mad to let her go.''

The spiritual mentor and psychic to the stars wore an eye-catching 4.3-carat pink diamond ring and matching tw0-carat diamond earrings from Cerrone. Her gown was by Australian designer Henry Roth.

read more at the Sydney Morning Herald

Another graduate from the Arthur Findlay College

In the world of Spiritualism , the Arthur Findlay College in the UK is like the Cambridge or Oxford University of Spirit. Courses are intensive and those who graduate can proudly state they have studied at this venerable institute of higher learning in the cause of Spiritualism. But unlike other universities no brilliant 'grades' are needed to attend-just the desire to learn more about Spirit.
**********************************

SIMON JAMES OSNU

Officiant of The Spiritualists' National Union

Teacher of The Spiritualists' National Union

SNU Certificates of Recognition for:

Demonstrating (Evidential Mediumship)

Public Speaking

Recognised as one of the UK’s finest classical spiritual mediums, Simon discovered his psychic and mediumistic abilities as a child. This knowledge marked the beginning of his interest in all aspects of the intuitive arts.

While in his teens, Simon began his mediumistic development at his local Spiritualist centre. Shortly afterwards, he was taken under the tutelage of Gordon Higginson, President of the Spiritualists' National Union, Principal of the Arthur Findlay College and one of the greatest mediums of the 20th century. Simon is one of only a few mediums whose development was guided by Gordon. During these years, Simon worked publicly alongside Gordon, as well as Paul Jacobs, who was also in receipt of Gordon’s instruction.

Concurrent with his mediumistic development, Simon completed a degree in Applied Psychology. Gordon encouraged Simon to introduce the subject of applied psychology at the world famous Arthur Findlay College and to include it in the general education of mediums.

Simon became the youngest tutor at the Arthur Findlay College. Later, he became a course organiser as well. During this time, he worked closely with Mavis Pittilla, a world renowned medium who also trained with Gordon.

Read more about Simon here.

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

To  read more about the Arthur Findlay College at Stanstead Hall go to their website here.

Temporary closure of Church

The Enmore Spiritualist Church is closed from Friday 4th June 2010 for 4 weeks.

nb : rumours that the Church is being sold or will be sold are not true.

Scots medium Gordon Smith gives a demonstration

Scottish medium Gordon Smith giving platform readings in San Francisco. Mediums in the USA and the UK tend to work differently to Australian Spiritualist churches. They usually do not give a reading to every person in attendence, rather go to where they are directed by Spirit.

In our local churches which mainly operate by visitors bringing a flower, everyone in attendence gets a short flower reading. The general feeling especially in the English churches is that they like people to attend on a regular basis to "build up the energy" and will get a message from Spirit when it is needed.

The History of Spiritualism Vol II (1926)-for free !

From the Project Gutenberg of Australia you can download an e-book by Spiritualist pioneer and the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

(click on Sir Arthur's name!)

 about:
eBook No.: 0301061.txt 

Language: English

Date first posted: July 2003 Date most recently updated: July 2003

Production notes: Footnotes in the book are shown in this ebook within the text, at the relevant place. Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editions which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice is included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particular paper edition. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this file.

This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online at http://gutenberg.net.au/licence.html To contact Project Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.net.au

Spiritualism reports from the past

Distinguished British Scientist Asserts He Has Made Successful Psychic Tests.

___________________________________________________

HAS TALKED WITH HODGSON

----------------------------------------------------------------

Prof. Hyslop Says He Conversed with F. W. H. Meyer's Spirit Yesterday -- Demonstrations Promised.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

London, Jan. 30 1908. -- That he has succeeded in obtaining communications from the spirits of persons formerly well known in London as the result of secret and exhaustive tests recently conducted in connection with spiritualism is the astonishing statement just made by Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of the Birmingham University and holder of a long list of distinguished degrees in science and scholarship to the members of the Psychical Research Society here.

Three well-known persons are named by Sir Oliver as having sent messages to him through mediums from beyond the grave. They are the late Edmund Gurney, the late Richard Hodgson, and the late F. W. H. Meyers.

The latter was a brilliant writer of English prose and a leading member of the Psychical Research Society. He died in 1901 at Rome and declared just before his death that he intended to attempt to communicate with the members of the society after his death.

Sir Oliver said in part:

"On the question of the life hereafter the excavators are engaged in boring a tunnel from the opposite ends. Amid the roar of the water and the other noises we are beginning to hear the strokes of the pickaxes of our comrades on the other side. We have received what an investigation has proved to be messages from the dead through the mediums, Mrs. Piper and Mrs. Verrall." 

"The latter is endowed to a remarkable degree with the power to act as a translator or interpreter of the psychical and the physical worlds. We have discovered that there is a new human faculty for communicating with the dead. The most important set of phenomena are those of astomatic(sic) writing and talking. Well-known persons, including those I have named, are constantly purporting to communicate with us with the express purpose of patently proving their known personalities, and giving evidence of knowledge appropriate to them." 

 

"Not easily or early do we make this admission, in spite of long conversations with what purports to be the surviving intelligence of those friends and investigators. We were by no means convinced of their identity until crucial proof, difficult even to imagine, had, according to some of our beliefs, been supplied."

Sir Oliver Lodge will give out later definite illustrations of his surprising spiritualistic tests.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Prof. James H. Hyslop, formerly Professor of Logic and Ethics at Columbia University, a member of the Psychical Research Society, at his home, 519 West 149th Street, said last night that Prof. Lodge was one of the best-known and most distinguished scientists in England.

"What he says is quite true," went on Prof. Hyslop. "I have taken messages from Mrs. Piper myself. Only ignorant people now doubt that Mrs. Piper and such as she is can communicate with the spirit world. Richard Hodgson established his identity several years ago through the mediums. Edmund Gurney made himself known through the mediums as far back as 1889. I have talked with Hodgson myself."

Just as THE TIMES reporter was walking out of the door Prof. Hyslop said:

"And as for this man Frederick Myers, why, I talked with him myself today.:

Prof. Hyslop has been Secretary of the American Society for Psychical Research, and has published a great deal of matter in the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research

.

Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (pictured left) who has given the weight of his opinion to the theory of spirit manifestations, has been often honored for work in scientific research. He is about 57 years old, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and has degrees from Oxford, St. Andrew's, Glasgow and other great British universities. He is the author of numerous scientific works and is one of the widest known of living English scientists.

Mrs. Piper was for eighteen years a coworker of Dr. Hodgson's and for that reasons Prof. Hyslop did not consider the messages received at her seances of as much values as the ones received through "a young girl." Before his death, Dr. Hodgson and Prof. Hyslop experimented with the girl, and the Hodgson spirit always referred to her as the "young light," among other things saying that she is all right."

Spiritualism and the ouija board-a warning

We thank the excellent website Spiritualism.com.au for this article on the dangers of using the ouija board. It's a popular belief by those who are not experienced in Spiritualism that ouija boards are used to communicate with spirit. Spiritualists do not endorse them or promote them. Even  people who have no connection to Spiritualism should avoid ouija boards at all costs.

Recently a 'digital' version of a board was released and it was sad to read a purported spiritualist discussion board endorsing it.
                                    *****************************

The Dangers of the Ouija Board


Do they work? Absolutely. How? Whether using a planchette or a glass, the participants are focusing their energies onto a very small space. They are giving power to these tools. It is this power and the open invitation for anyone to communicate that opens doorways. The difficulty is once these doorways are opened you cannot always close them and the experience can last long after the game has ended. A planchette or glass is like a shining beacon; unfortunately the communicators they usually attract are the occupants of the astral world. This is plane where entities reside who have departed from this world, but not transcended to the other world. It is also where entities or beasts not of this world live. If you are lucky a loved one or guide will come through, but most people are unlucky. It is also nearly impossible to tell the difference between someone of the light and someone pretending to be. Why? Because the game removes the safety features associated with spiritual communication. When a Medium/Clairvoyant communicates they do so through their own energy field, so they can feel and sense the link. With or without protection they will know immediately if the link is of the light or merely feigning to be. But if they were using a glass or a planchette they lose the closeness of the connection and their ability to be able sense the energy of the communicator.

Participants of the game have given away their right to be protected from the dwellers of the lower planes. They have invited them. Once they are here they have no intentions of going back. So long after the fun has gone they can live on, in the space where the activity took place. With the added advantage of being invisible they can wreak havoc in peoples’ lives, by creating fear, anger and dis-harmony. For those foolhardy enough to try out this type of communication the affects can be disastrous. If you are still not convinced I suggest you read my own book ‘Spheres of an Unseen World’ where I tell story after story of people whose lives have been affected by disincarnate entities. From mild disturbances around the house, knocking, banging, through to physical assaults on people. Not all but many of these events start with the use of these boards. Even after the culprits have long moved on, unable to cope with the unearthly disturbances the chaos lives on.

If you have used a board and believe it has caused a problem in your home seek out a local spiritualist church, they will offer you advice and assistance. For ‘would be communicators’, remember there are no short cuts to developing your ability to communicate with the other side. If you are interested again visit your local spiritualist church or spiritual/psychic centres. Most will offer development courses, where you can learn to communicate properly and safely, without the dangers of attracting unsavoury entities into your home.

Victor Hugo and Spiritualism

Victor-Marie Hugo, novelist, poet, playwright, dramatist, essayist and statesman, (February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) is recognized as one of the most influential Romantic writers of the nineteenth century. Born and raised in a royalist Catholic family, Hugo would—like so many of the Romantics—rebel against the conservative political and religious establishment in favor of liberal republicanism and the revolutionary cause. Hugo, like Gustave Flaubert, was disgusted with what he saw as the corruption of imperial France and with the Church's complicity in social injustices, and he devoted much of his energies (both in fiction and in essays) to overthrowing the monarchy.

While he made significant contributions to the revolutionary cause, Hugo was much more than a political activist. He was one of the most gifted writers of his times. Like Charles Dickens in England, Hugo became immensely popular among the working classes, viewed as a hero who exposed the underbelly of French society.

Less known about this great writer is that he was also a Spritualist. Many books have been written about Hugo's involvement with Spiritualism and make fascinating reading. Visit our friends at the Adyar Bookshop in Sydney ( they also do mail order) where you will find many titles about Victor Hugo or you can always go to Amazon.

The amazing tale of Helen Duncan & Winston Churchill

In November 1941 HMS Barham, a British battleship, was travelling off the coast of Egypt, as part of a Mediterranean WWII convoy. What Royal Navy sonar operators mistook a signal  to be a school of fish, was in reality a lurking German U-boat. 

HMS Barham suffered three torpedo hits which led to 861 British seamen losing their lives. A total of 395 were rescued while the U-boat escaped without knowing the result of their stealth attack. Some time later it became apparent to the Admiralty that the Germans had no idea that they had in fact sunk HMS Barham. Sir Winston Churchill decided not to announce the sinking of the battleship in order to deceive the Germans, and an elaborate cover up followed, designed so that initially not even the relatives of the crew would be informed of the battleship's sinking.

Days later at a séance in Portsmouth England, a Spiritualist medium from Callander in Scotland called 

Helen Duncan, told of a spirit presence who claimed that he had been a sailor on HMS Barham and that his ship was now sunk. Due to the suppression of this information by the British Admiralty, it came as a shock to the sailor's mother who was present at the séance.

Maurice Barbanel, who was the editor of Psychic News at the time, contacted the Admiralty to ask if the sinking of the Barham was true. Military intelligence were not too happy that this "top secret" information had leaked into the public domain so soon after the event. 

Helen Duncan continued to work as a medium until January 1944 when she was arrested on a charge of vagrancy. She was convicted of "fraudulent mediumship" under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 and after a eight day trial was sentenced to ten months (less remission) in prison. Many believe that her arrest had more to do with national security than enforcing a law dating back over two centuries. With the D-Day landings planned only five months ahead of her arrest, perhaps British intelligence were seeking to tie up any loose ends prior to the Normandy invasions? 

The Witchcraft Act, 1735 was repealed seven years later and was replaced by the Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951, which many people believe was a direct result of Helen Duncan's conviction. During her trial the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill sent the following memo to Herbert Morrison, the wartime Home Secretary. 

"HOME SECRETARY

Let me have a report on why the Witchcraft Act, 1735 was used in a modern Court of Justice.

What was the cost of this trial to the State, observing that witnesses were brought from Portsmouth and maintained here in this crowded London for a fortnight, and the Recorder kept busy with all this obsolete tomfoolery, to the detriment of necessary work in the Courts.

Winston Churchill (3rd April 1944). "

Although there is no official record, it's believed that Winston Churhill was a firm believer in Spiritualism and visited Helen Duncan in prison 3 times to offer his sympathy for her plight.

Helen Duncan was released from prison in 1945 and although she had promised not to conduct any more séances, twelve years later in November 1956, she was arrested in Nottingham when police raided a séance she was conducting.

Spiritualists have always maintained that a trance medium should never be touched when they are in a trance state, but unfortunately as the police grabbed Helen, the ectoplasm returned into her body too quickly causing severe burns to her stomach. She was later rushed into hospital and died five weeks later. 

There is an ongoing Spiritualist campaign to clear Helen Duncan's name which so far has not been successful. A posthumous pardon was denied in 2006 and most recently a petition calling for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to reconsider this decision was submitted to the Scottish Parliament for consideration by their Petitions Committee. On the 4th March 2008 the petition was closed (rejected) as the committee considered the whole issue to be not worth their time.

In April 2008, the Fraudulent Mediums Act, 1951 was repealed and replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2007 (CPRs) which implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD).

Robert Hartley's excellent book on the life of Helen Duncan be obtained from the

Greater World Book Shop

The real life 'MEDIUM' TV character

Allison DuBois, pictured left, (born January 24, 1972) is an American author and medium. DuBois uses her psychic abilities to help law enforcement agencies across the United States solve crimes, which formed the basis of the TV series Medium.


Her  powers as a medium were tested by Gary Schwartz of The University of Arizona and Schwartz claims that his research supports DuBois' psychic abilities.

Allison was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated from Corona del Sol High School in Tempe in 1990. In college, she worked as an intern at the district attorney's office in Phoenix. She received her B.A. in political science with a minor in history from Arizona State University. Allison is married to Joe DuBois and they have three daughters together Sophia, Fallon and Aurora


DuBois refers to herself as a medium and profiler, rather than a psychic, because of the negative connotation she feels is associated with the term psychic. She says that she became aware that she had the ability to communicate with departed souls when she was 6 years old. DuBois uses this ability to connect deceased loved ones to the living, and also to help law enforcement agencies solve crimes, such as the Texas Rangers and the Glendale, Arizona police department, and that she used these abilities as a jury consultant.

According to the TV Guide, Allison DuBois spent four years participating in various tests at the University of Arizona to assist with their studies of mediums and psychic phenomena. Gary Schwartz, Director of The VERITAS Research Project, claims that DuBois has psychic abilities, arguing in the March 6, 2005 TV Guide, "Anyone who's looked closely at the evidence can't help but come to the conclusion that there is something very real going on here." At their first meeting, Schwartz says DuBois accurately described a friend of Schwartz's who had just died. Impressed, Schwartz conducted a series of interviews, including one in which DuBois stated she contacted the late husband of a woman in England.

The TV series Medium:
The television drama Medium, originally airing on NBC and as of 2009 moving to CBS is based on Allison DuBois's book, Don't Kiss Them Good-Bye. The show was created by Glenn Gordon Caron, creator of Moonlighting and other television shows, who is also one of the writers for the series. It is produced by Paramount Pictures and Grammnet, the production company owned by Cheers and Frasier alumnus Kelsey Grammer. Patricia Arquette (pictured) was cast to play the role of DuBois, at the suggestion of Caron's girlfriend. DuBois stated in the January 9, 2005 TV Guide that she initially thought Arquette was too far to the left to play her, remarking, "I mean, I have a gun, I have put people on death row. I wanted to make sure that was something that didn't bother her. But she assured me that she believed some people may have that coming."
"Every episode is not a biography of my life, it is simply based on my life experiences. It is an accurate portrayal of my life and the people who share it with a little Hollywood magic thrown in," DuBois has said. 

She does state in both her book and in the January 3, 2005 edition of Sci Fi Weekly that the program closely resembles the truth of her own life. Several details of Arquette's character match DuBois's life, such as the name of her husband on the show (Joe) and the fact that he is an aerospace engineer. Both the character and the real-life Dubois have three daughters, and the first case the character "consults" on in the show's pilot is with the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement agency with whom the real-life DuBois alleges she first worked.