Tuesday 4 April 2017

my Diary … In the past thirty-nine years … The suffering and death that is legal … The New Danger In Our Midst.




                                                         
                                                                        My Diary…


February…

26th -  I took the morning service at the Edinburgh Association of Spiritualists (SNU) at The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 25 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AP.
March…

1st – The start of our new venture on a Wednesday evenings at the Glasgow Association.  I take a class on “Understanding Our Psychic Abilities. 

3rd-7th -  Four days at the Glasgow Association (SNU) and that in includes four services, a development circle and private sittings.

8th March – Our Philosophy evening at the GAS.  Both Isabel and I enjoyed listening to a talk by Vice President Derek Connor.

11th – I travel to Falkirk to take the service at Falkirk Spiritualist Church (SNU), 8 Burnhead Ln, Falkirk FK1 1UG.  This church has been running for many years and at this time could do with a little more support.  So, why not go along to their services.

15th – Back at the Glasgow Association to take part in “Our Spiritual Experiences and Discussion”.

23rd – I attended The Phoenix Spiritual Centre, Volunteers Rooms, Irvine KA12 0BA for the first time.   and I received a great welcome from Anne Smith and those attending.    

Its AGM time for our churches and after being co-opted on to the committee last June I got voted in last month to serve a two-year term.  Good news at our AGM, membership is up and those  attending our healing services has greatly increased.  We have also followed on from last year’s philosophy classes to have the same monthly class this year and also evenings on meditation, understanding your psychic abilities and our spiritual experiences and discussion. 





                                                           In the past thirty-nine years


Thirty-nine years on 19th March that my mother passed to spirit.  That made me think on what has changed in all these years.  Would my mother be in favour of the changes or not?  

My mother died as the result of that terrible disease cancer.   Even knowing that cancer is a group name for over 200 different diseases, I wonder if we are as far forward in tackling this disease as we should be?  In the past four decades, we have made progress in so many different areas in the treatment of cancers.  Progress in understanding the disease, detecting cancer, cancer care, surgery, radio therapy, chemotherapy, targeted treatment, prevention and awareness.  Yet, have we done enough? 

Almost on a daily basis we hear of someone being diagnosed with this disease or having died of it.  Very few walk past a donation box for cancer charities without giving a donation, knowing that this illness could attack any of us at any time.  Vast sums of money have been donated by ordinary people to fight cancer as has governments.  But… has the latter done enough?  Have they got their priorities, right?  Governments around the world spend billions on weaponry, space exploration and employ the top brains to work on these projects.  Even if a small percentage of what has been spend on these areas had been targeted our biggest enemy of all – cancer –  then there would be fewer casualties today

 All is not doom and gloom on the medical side.  Many diseases have been eradicated or at least sufferers of long-term illness now lead a better quality of life than then would have done 40-years-ago.  Transplant surgery has been come extremely successful, yet many needing transplant surgery die because of lack of donor organs.  Even worse, the donor’s family not allowing the organs to be taken.     Surely in a loving and caring society there would be a glut of organ donation offers rather than a deficit?  That comes down to Spiritualism’s 5th principle – Personal Responsibility? 

Maybe we Spiritualists need to take personal responsibility and if the above worries us we should do more about it. Stop all the in-fighting in our churches and organizations.  Keep in constant contact with our local and national politicians, health boards and keep these issues to the forefront in our social media forums.  Yes, we can pray, but we need to do more on a personal basis.  






                                                          The suffering and death that is legal.


In Britain, we like to be known as a nation of animal lovers. Whenever we hear of dog fighting, badger baiting and bullfighting we hold our hands up in horror. Yet, we have a so-called sport in this country that is equally horrific and it is legal. This so-called sport is horse racing and takes the lives of many horses every year. The wastage in this so-called-sport is high.  My main concern are the horses that collapse and die during or just after a race.  I look on this as they are being raced to death.   Eight of the forty-seven horses that have died on the racecourse this year have been in this category

I do not look on horse racing as a sport, but a massive frightening industry - which it is.  Not only royalty, the richest people on our planet are attracted to own a horse the ordinary man in the street can now become a part owner paying only a few £’s a month through being part of a syndicate.  Even having a bet in a horse race funds this industry via betting tax.
I was not going to mention the range of injuries that horses suffer on the race track not to upset anyone.  But, I will as so much of the pain, stress that these magnificent creatures suffer is swept under the carpet.  The fatal injuries recorder this year on the race course, broken legs, knees,  necks, spinal injuries and of course collapsing through suffering a heart-attack.

In my next blog – can we really be a true spiritualist if we support this industry?



                                                                          Photo; - Stephanie Wilson.

                                                The New Danger In Our Midst.


Before I entered the car for my first driving lesson, my driving instructor – a retired army sergeant – told me the following as he tapped the roof of the car.  “This is a lethal weapon if it is not maintained and handled correctly.  Every time you turn on the ignition you are responsible for what could be a lethal weapon – as lethal as any weapon I used in my army days”.  Something I have never forgot when getting into my car.

The incidents of vehicles driving into crowds in Nice, the German Christmas market and the on-Westminster bridge is not what my driving instructor was thinking about, but it adds a new sinister dimension to our everyday safety.