Spiritualism and Healing
History of modern spiritualism
Modern spiritualism began in Hydesville, New York on March 31st1848.
Margaretta and Kate Fox, two young girls began hearing rapping’s in mid March of ‘48. On March 31st Kate challenged the spirit to copy the clicks of her fingers, which it did and they used this to establish a way of communication, each rap representing one letter of the alphabet.
They used these raps to communicate with the spirit of Charles B. Rosna who told them that he had been killed and buried in the basement of the house.
Bones were indeed found in the basement of the house but the sisters were still claimed to be frauds and it was said that they were creating these raps by cracking their toe joints!
The house had previously had a reputation for being haunted and the previous tenant Michael Weakman had even moved out because of the raps.
Spiritualism today
Spiritualism is not just a religion, but also a way of life. Spiritualists believe that after death the human soul continues to exist and they we are able to communicate with them.
Spiritualism is not about seeing into the future but about communication with those who have passed on.
As a religion Spiritualism is based around 7 principals these are:
- The Fatherhood of God;
- The Brotherhood of Man;
- The communication of spirit and the ministry of angels;
- The continuous existence of the human soul;
- Personal Responsibility;
- Compensation and Retribution for all good and evil deeds done on earth;
- Eternal progress open to every human soul.
A spiritualist church is not too dissimilar from other churches.
A spiritualist service usually contains the following things, hymns, an opening prayer, a reading given by the medium or another person accompanying the medium (this reading in linked to at least one of the seven principals), a few moments silence to send out thoughts to people who require healing or healing thoughts and then communication given by the medium. Depending on the type of service you are attending you may be required to take something along such as a flower or possession that the medium will give the reading from but if these are required it will say in your local newspaper or on the church notice board.
After the communication there is a closing prayer and hymn and then tea/coffee and biscuits!
Private readings
Private readings are offered in churches. These are one to one readings with a medium. There is normally a small charge for these to cover the church costs and most churches will let you have a tape of your reading. You should contact your local church to book these.
Lyceum
Not every church has one of these, for more information you should contact your local church. A lyceum is a Sunday school. These are normally a lot of fun for the children and they are also quite informative. They cover things like the hydesville rapping’s and history of spiritualism, usually with a lot of paint, glue, glitter and noise!!!
Healing
Most churches offer healing. The format for this varies from church to church and for more information you should contact your local spiritualist church. When you go for healing you should be asked for some details such as name and address and asked to sign a consent card. If it is a serious illness, a child under 16, or a heavily pregnant woman you should be advised to seek medical assistance and sign a card to say that this has been recommended.
All healers have a different way of giving healing but it is normal for them to ask you to sit quietly and for them to place their hands a couple of inches away from you. They may place their hands on you but should ask before they do so.
You may feel either a hot or cold sensation, but if you do not feel anything it doesn’t mean that it isn’t working!
Terms used in spiritualism
Clairvoyant – Someone who see’s spirits
Clairaudient – Someone who hear’s spirits
Clairsentient – Someone who senses spirits
Psychic – Someone that works from themselves. They often work with one of the following, tarot cards, auras, symbols, flowers, ribbons, jewellery, etc.
Psychometry – Where a possession is used to give a reading
Materialization – Where ectoplasm is created under certain conditions to form either a solid spirit, a voice box, a mask which is placed over the mediums own face or rods which are used to lift things.
Apport – An item which is taken else where by a spirit or an item which isn’t yours being brought to you
Psychic art – These are either pictures of spirits drawn by a medium that is very good at art or the spirit working through the medium to draw the picture.
Overshadowing – When during meditation a spirit comes close and often speaks throught the medium.
Healing – There are many different kinds of healing, spiritual, magnetic, psychic, distant etc. for more information please click on one of the links under healing.
There are many more – if you hear of any and don’t know what they mean, send me a message and I will try to tell you what the mean!
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