| I am a natural clairvoyant medium although I have | | | | I work professionally as a medium now and recently |
| never been a religious person, only attending church for | | | | had a client who was obviously tense when she |
| the usual family functions, e.g. weddings, christenings | | | | arrived. It took a while for her to unwind and tell me her |
| and funerals. To me the church had a somewhat staid | | | | reasons for being agitated. She said that whilst |
| feeling about it and I was fortunate enough to have | | | | discussing her forthcoming visit to me, a friend had told |
| parents that did not insist that I belong to one | | | | her that she should 'Leave the dead alone and stop |
| denomination or another. My father was a Catholic but | | | | bothering them, let them be dead.' This of course had |
| he was also a free thinker and allowed me to develop | | | | raised many questions in her mind as to the ethics of |
| my own ideas. | | | | mediumship and indeed her personal desires and what |
| Mediumship was a faculty that was present within my | | | | should or should not be achievable when having a |
| family and involved my grandmother, and all her three | | | | sitting for Spirit. |
| daughters. Therefore we did not tend to make a | | | | I advised her that my belief is this, during my younger |
| secret of it nor a big deal, it just happened that our | | | | years, listening to my family and having my own |
| dead returned to contact us and we could pass | | | | experiences of Spirit I knew that the dead were very |
| messages on to the grieving relatives of others if and | | | | forthcoming if they wanted to make contact. This was |
| when the situation arose. | | | | not a case of chanting ritualistic songs, casting spells or |
| My initial encounter with Spiritualism came as a | | | | even using the (talking) Ouija board, it was simply a |
| process of personal enlightenment really, I was seeking | | | | person wanting to make it known that their Spirit |
| something that filled a void within me, something that | | | | continued to exist past their physical death. |
| could give me a sense of belonging yet without | | | | There is a belief within Occultism - which although |
| demanding that I praise God, Jesus, Buddha or the | | | | vastly different from Spiritualism has been frequently |
| Immaculate Lady or any number of other idols from | | | | compared because of its 'use' of Spirits through rituals |
| religious persuasions at regular intervals. | | | | and magic - that a deceased person should be left to |
| After attending several services I joined a Spiritualist | | | | their own device to make that ultimate transition from |
| church and was surprised not to be given a bible or | | | | this existence to the next, unhindered by grieving |
| expected to absolve my 'sins'. I was told 'Just treat | | | | relatives that are hanging on to the comfort blanket of |
| others as you would be treated yourself and accept | | | | a message from their dead. Whilst I am open to many |
| the responsibility for that which you do to others, do | | | | theories and ideas within Occultism, this one does not |
| not expect to be 'forgiven' for your sins. If you carry | | | | sit well with me and the reason is this. If mediumship is |
| out something which is unkind, hurtful or downright | | | | a natural facility to a person and they are initially |
| harmful then accept the Personal Responsibility of | | | | unaware of what process is actually taking place and |
| what you have done.' | | | | not consciously requesting contact from the dead, it is |
| This was very welcome to me as I had always | | | | surely then the deceased person with whom the onus |
| essentially felt that a person should be responsible for | | | | is resting. |
| their wrong doings, that it was not for Jesus to forgive | | | | I think in short, when we die we shed this body our |
| us so that we could carry on doing rotten things until | | | | 'overcoat' if you will, for our time here on earth. We |
| the next time our conscious got the better of us. | | | | are then still Personally Responsible for our actions, |
| But of course the crux of Spiritualism is the belief that | | | | thoughts and deeds and if we choose to want to be a |
| we continue to 'live' after our earthly body dies and as | | | | part of the life of our loved ones, friends or relatives |
| a Spiritualist and life-long natural medium I do not feel | | | | beyond our physical death then it is our choice to do |
| that when the dead freely make themselves known to | | | | so. It is simply one Spirit contacting another. |
| us it can be considered as being 'bothersome' to them. | | | | |