My Week... Mummies Expedition.... Has Spiritualism Peaked in Scotland?... Awareness ...

22^nd... April I was at Mrs. Primrose’s Spiritualist Church...

24^th... A new church for me  the Carluke Spiritualist Church, Lifestyle Centre,  Carnwath Road, Carluke,  ML8 4DF Church Service.  This church only started up a short time ago and already is already well supported by the local community.

28^th,, This time to a well established Saltcoats Spiritualist Church.  One of the first churches I took a service at.

30^th…It was a double bill so to speak.  In the afternoon I was at the Edinburgh College of Parapsychology at 2 Melville St EH3 7PE.  The College has many interesting events which you can check out on their website at http://www.edinburghpsychiccollege.com/

In the evening I took the service at Kilwinning Temple of Light Spiritualist Church  as usual another good turnout.

31^st...  Taking part in research work...

2^nd June I was giving a talk to the Scottish Branch of the Ghost Club.  . The Ghost Club is the oldest organization in the world associated with psychical research. It was founded in 1862 but has its roots in Cambridge University where, in 1855, fellows at Trinity College began to discuss ghosts and psychic phenomena.

Past members include Charles Dickens, Siegfried Sassoon, Harry Price, Donald Campbell, Peter Cushing, Peter Underwood, Maurice Grosse, Sir Shane Leslie and Eric Maple.

Today the Ghost Club is a non-profit, social club run by an elected Council of volunteers and its purpose remains true to its roots; the Ghost Club offers open-minded, curious individuals the opportunity to debate, explore and investigate unexplained phenomena with like-minded people.

2012 is the Ghost Club's 150th year.  To celebrate this momentous mark in our history we aim to publish a book which will chronicle the club's history people and record the results for posterity.

I was honoured to be asked to give a talk to this organization in London in 2009...

This club has a very interesting website, especially a book review section.

http://www.ghostclub.org.uk/

Isobel has a great interest in Ancient Egypt and in the past when she has visited the Ancient Egyptian section of museums I have usually visited other parts of the building.

Why?  I felt it disrespectful to put these bodies on display.  I have often wondered what those viewing these remains would think if it was their mother or child that was on display, no matter how far in the future.  Not only that but the remains to be sent and kept in far off lands.

At a debate one night recently I was told not to be so narrow minded and go to the National Museum of Scotland’s Mummies Exhibition.  and see the respect given to these exhibits.  As I am always telling other to have an open mind I decided to go along.

No one can fail to be impressed by the achievements and craft work of the Ancient Egyptians but I did feel uncomfortable at gazing on what was considered sacred by others.

At the debating group I was told that historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists now use CT scan in a lot of their work as if this made everything OK.    How would the UK react if an Arab or African country had taken the remains of one of our kings and was putting it on display for all and sundry to see?

I left the exhibition wiser about this ancient race but more determined never to attend such an exhibition ever again.

  Several of my friends have been telling me that numbers attending their spiritualist churches have dropped considerably since the start of the year. 

Why?  Has spiritualism peaked in Scotland and now numbers are dropping?  With more and more churches opening are there too many churches? Are psychic evenings outside of churches taking people away from churches?

Hi Raymond – I have heard similar comments recently but I have not noticed any significant drop in numbers at churches I have attended.  In fact at some the numbers have been higher than in the past.

Has spiritualism peaked in Scotland and now numbers are dropping?

No I don’t thinks so. I regularly find more and more people showing interest in our religion and looking for their nearest spiritualist church. But I do not expect our numbers to rise as fast as they have been in recent years

With more and more churches opening are there too many churches?  

Hmm... In most cases our churches are reasonably well spread out and only in a few cases are two in close proximity.  Most of Scotland is well covered by Spiritualist churches apart from the Border region.

Are psychic evenings outside of churches taking people away from churches?

Usually psychic demonstrations taking place in a pub, club or theatre only take place once every so often in an area and on that night, numbers at the local churches can drop slightly for that one night.

I have no fears of our numbers dropping dramatically.  I have more concern about some of these nights coming across more as entertainment and that making people feel that our religion is little more than entertainment.

Four people were asked to read the words below that were recorded at a trance circle. Then to try to be aware of all-around them and report back

“All a Learning Process”

It is only through experiencing all manner of things, negative and positive that one can leave this life knowing a little more than when they entered it…

The more you learn… … The more equipped you will be for the next part of your existence…

For the next week… Look on everything… and I mean everything… as a learning process…

Think what you have to learn from this… and what you have to learn from that…

It will amaze you by the end of the week… how you will see so much… in a different light…

A whole new world…

A whole new dimension will open up to you…

You will see things like you have never seen them before…

Never give up… Never give in to the negative side of what unfolds in front of you

Alan…

The above comments were given in a trance circle in 2000 and forgotten about till a few weeks ago.

This gave a few of us an idea to ask four people to take heed of these words and see how they get on with being more aware of their surroundings for the next week or so

To make it more interesting we decided to select four people from different walks of life;

Here are John’s comments, after paying heed to the following words. (John has been in the spiritualist movement for fifteen years.)...

 I tried for ten days to be extra vigilant of everything around me.  Instead of taking so much for granted I was extra vigilant and in many cases I did not like what I saw.

My religion, spiritualism.  Really angry at the politics that are part and parcel of spiritualism these days.  I have spent the past few years trying not to listen to gossip but in the past ten days I realise how bad it is getting.

My workplace... The same gossip backbiting everyone trying to outdo each other.

My family... I was always happy for everyone to do their own thing but I now realize that we have grown further and further apart.

I am really sorry I took part in this exercise as the end result was not what I expected.  But at least I am now aware of it and will do my best to turn things around.

It is sad the media and so many in our society point the finger at those who are overweight and accuse them of not eating a proper diet or being gluttons.  But on many occasions the overweight can be the cause of a health condition, the effect of prescribed drugs or after an operation etc.  Recently I met one lady in complete distress because of being ridiculed about being overweight, yet according to her family has never had a big appetite and only started putting on weight after a major operation.  Maybe before we shake our heads at those who have put on weight we should first find out the facts as to why this is...

Morrison emails.”I keep hearing Statstead Hall being mentioned, any info please”.

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.

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.

By John Hardaker

J Arthur Findlay stayed here in Beith for part of his life….

.....................................................................................................

Sorry that my web diary for last week was not accurate... One mix up with bookings and a hall being closed because of the jubilee celebrations.  Plus, I could not get into the diary to change it...

KIlmarnock Church SNU Open Day... Meditation - start at the begining... Angela's Awareness... Dali Lama's Award....

A two week break from church services did not mean I was idle, well not for the first week.  That was busy with voluntary work, seeing those who had contacted our churches and some psychic investigation.  The second week we had a few days break in Eastbourne.

Hours after returning home I took part in Kilmarnock Spiritualist Church’s (SNU) Open Day.  This year it was a Charity tea in aid of Parkinson’s Research .and an amazing £1216was raised.

A lot of praise has to go to President, Morag Deverell and the wonderful committee and members who worked hard to make this day such a successful.

Mediums: taking part were Mary Reynolds: Chris Bachelor Elizabeth Halliday Margaret Beattie June Harrison Ann Armstrong: Steven Scott: Robert Cairnie: Ricky Arthur: and myself.  

Churches of all denominations hold tea or coffee days in aid of charity, but few spiritualist churches do this, our churches are more in favour of psychic demonstrations.  But I think we should go more along the road of the charity tea because it brings in those in the local community who would not go to a psychic night.  It gives the local community an insight into their local spiritualist church but not needing to take part in anything on the psychic side.  Many turned up at the Kilmarnock church for the first time and were impressed.  I am sure that this was a perfect introduction for them and they may return for a service. 

...Meditation...

I constantly hear.... “I cannot meditate”....”It is just impossible for me to meditate”.   Since I opened up this site I have lost count of the number of times I have received emails saying “Can you recommend a book that will help me to meditate?”

Like everything, else we have to learn to walk before we can run, meditation being no different.  Before one can meditate one has to learn how to relax, something not so easy in this day and age.  One cannot just sit down after a busy day and expect to go into a meditation after reading a few pages of a book.  .

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or mode of consciousness or self-induce to obtain some benefit.   During meditation, one detaches their thoughts, keeping relaxed, and focuses only on one thing such as a sound, music or an object, or pay attention to breathing.  Through meditation, one can achieve tranquility and peace of mind which is difficult to attain in today’s  busy urban life

Before meditation is ever thought off or attempted one should try just to slow one’s mind down for a few minutes.  I know of many who started out on this trail by taking a few minutes during the lunch break at work and even sitting on a bus or train.  To meditate or even relax one has to find the key that helps one’s mind to relax. That key to this is personal to you and no book can tell you what the key is for you.

Over the past few years when being asked to take meditation groups I have always insisted that I start of right at the beginning with the basics. Forgetting about actual meditation in its true sense and getting each person to find ‘their own key to relaxation.  This ‘key’ as I have mentioned earlier can come in the form of a sound, music, an object, or pay attention to breathing. 

Let’s take each of these in turn…

Sound - waves and birds singing are the favourite way of many to relax and there are many CDs on the market to choose from.

Music is probably the favourite ‘key’ of many but we all have different tastes in music and what is a perfect piece of music for one to relax too, will stress out another.  Even with music written for relaxation I have seldom found at all in the group who are happy with it.

It was in this area I started to experiment in and found out that some music, even from the top-10 could be just perfect to set me off on that few minutes of relaxation.

Three tunes I found just right for me were Wonderful Land and Atlantis by the Shadows and theme from the Carl Sagan TV series Cosmos.  Later I found a more relaxing version of Wonderful Land by Mike Oldfield. 
As time went on I found that TV themes turned out to be the ‘key’ that could help many to relax. Themes from programmes they watched when they were much younger and when life for them at that time was not so stressful.   Themes from programmes such as All Creatures Great and Small, Howard’s Way, Dallas…

So experiment with music and find if a particular song or piece of music is your key.

An Object…  This can be anything but usually something which holds a special memory for you.  I have been told by thoses who have found their key in this category to be an item handed down or a present from a loved one.   

Colour I feel comes into this category. The colour of an ornament, cushion or flower etc. 

Paying attention to breathing…  This can be difficult for many at the beginning but give it a try.

There is also sitting in silence but not easy in this day and age to get a place where there is complete silence…

So experiment and find the key that will help you to relax.

In an earlier blog after the following words of wisdom we gave four people the task of being ‘aware’ of all things around them for three weeks and to comment if it had made them look at life from a different angle....

                    “All A Learning Process”

 There will always be what you call problems…

They are what we call lessons to learn
If you lived in a walled garden where the sun was always shining… There was always plenty to eat and drink… and good shelter… Would you want to venture far?
No… most people would not…
So how could they learn what life was all about?
They would leave this life knowing little more than when they entered it…
The more you learn… … The more equipped you will be for the next part of your existence…
For the next week… Look on everything… and I mean everything… as a learning process…
Think what you have to learn from this… and what you have to learn from that…
It will amaze you by the end of the week… how you will see so much… in a different light…
A whole new world…
A whole new dimension will open up to you…
You will see things like you have never seen them before…
Never give up… Never give in to the negative side… of what unfolds in front of you
Tom/Alan…

First to get back was Angela – a lady in her 40’s who spends many hours helping out her local church – one of the orthodox religions

 “The three weeks happened to coincide with a very busy period in our own little church’s life.  Several activities had been arranged  where we all had too muck in to make them a success.  Standing back and looking at all that was going on suddenly dawned on me for the first time that there were those who made all the decisions and those who done the hard work.  Those who made all the decisions would never get their hands dirty and those who were allays washing dishes and moving chairs were never listened too.  But I suppose all this reflects society and probable those who do the actual hard graft would not want to be in a position of power anyway.  They would have the ability but would feel they were not capable or want the responsibility.

Of our religion, it suddenly dawned on me that we have to accept and to question even in debate is frowned upon.

As far as my own life is concerned, I have missed out on doing so much only because I have told myself that “I cannot do this and I cannot do that.

Family – they are drifting apart and this is something I am going to try to change.

Work; - only part-time and I moan and groan about it all the time.  But when I sit down and think about it I have just got into the habit of moaning and given the chance of another job, I don’t think I would move.

I know that part of this experiment I was to think on spiritualism and maybe even go to a spiritualist service, but I could not attend the service or even read a book on the subject..  I just cannot seem to take that what you call spirit I have always been brought up to think of as ghost, is for me.   I know Tom well, a nice and genuine person who takes time for others, is a spiritualist and does a lot for his religion but I just cannot accept spiritualism as a religion.

The exercise will hopefully make me change my outlook in life.”

 

The Dalai Lama is best known for his commitment to Tibetan autonomy from China and his message of spirituality, nonviolence and peace that has made him a best-selling author and a speaker who can pack entire arenas.

The Tibetan Buddhist leader and Nobel Prize laureate has also had an abiding interest in the intersection of science and religion. That interest won Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, the 2012 Templeton Prize on Thursday (March 29), a $1.7 million award that is often described as the most prestigious award in religion.

The Dalai Lama is the highest-profile winner of an award that in recent years,  physicists and theologians not well known to the general public, but earlier had been given to the likes of evangelist Billy Graham and the late Mother Teresa

 

Katrina Murphy - Spiritualist Medium... Spiritual Contact

22^nd April I was at the Love & Friendship Spiritualist Church,  Langside Halls, Glasgow.  This is always a well attended church and the 22^nd was no exception.

25^th saw me return to the Langside Halls to take the development circle at the Love & Friendship Spiritualist Church.  This circle has great talent and is being slowly nurtured by President Maureen Land.

26^th I travelled again to Glasgow to The White Dove Spiritualist Church, Toryglen,.  Although I have served this church for many years I was entering new territory as the church has moved from the hall they have been in for many years to the Toryglen Community Halls which is only a short distance away.   Since the move numbers attending the church has increased 3/4 fold.
29^th We enjoyed the pleasant drive to Dunfermline Spiritualist Church, (SNU) 3 Lady Campbell’s Walk, Dunfermline…
3^rd May it was a visit to the coast to Gourock in fact and to the Gourock Lighthouse Spiritualist Church…
5^th…  I was taking a workshop at the Glasgow Association and I hope those attending enjoyed it as much as I did.
6^th I was taking the service at Falkirk Spiritualist Church, (SNU) Burnhead Lane.

…Katrina Murphy – Spiritualist Medium…

The announcement of Spiritual Medium Katrina’s Murphy’s passing shocked all who knew her. 

I have known Katrina since she was a small girl as my sister and Katrina’s sister were friends.  Yet when Katrina and I met as ASK in Stewarton all those years later we did not instantly recognize each other although we both thought “each other seemed familiar”.  Believe it or not months after we first met at Stewarton it dawned on us both at the same time who each other was.

Katrina’s nature never changes from the first time I met her all those years ago.  Always such a bubbly person Katrina had time for everyone, never making more of one person than another.

The turnout at Ayr crematorium showed just how much Katrina was loved and respected.  In this day and age when it is difficult to get off work for the funeral of a family member, many did take the time off to pay their respects to Katrina.  Many of the spiritualist churches in Scotland were represented from as far afield as Stirling and Perth.  I apologies to anyone who came from further afield.

Where there was Katrina, Stephen her husband was always close.  They were such a well suited couple, soul mates.  I am sure all out thoughts will be with Stephen at this time and in the coming months.

So many amazing tributes to Katrina and I will just use one at the moment

I've just been blown out of my low mood by the sudden shock of some news. One of my Mentors & Circle leader passed away yesterday. Katrina Murphy was a brilliant Medium, a fantastic woman & a friend. Her words of wisdom would keep you going strong however down you were. The knowledge she passed on was better than any book. The world of Mediumship has lost a BIG personality; the spirit world has gained a new leader. RIP Katrina. You will be missed by many. But we know we can talk soon. Xx    ......Emz Fish Fullagar

The music played at the service was The Indigo Girls “Fare Thee Well”

Fare Thee Well"

Fare thee well my bright star
I watched your taillights blaze into nothingness
but you were long gone before I ever got to you before you blazed past this address
and now I think of having loved and having lost you never know what it's like to never love
who can say what's better and my heart's become the cost
a mere token of a brighter jewel sent from above

fare thee well my bright star
the vanity of youth the color of your eyes
maybe if I'd fanned the blazing fire of your day to day
or if I'd been older I'd been wise
too thick the heat of those long summer evenings
for a cool evening I began to yearn
but you could only feed upon the things which feed a fire
waiting to see if I would burn

fare thee well my bright star
it was a brief brilliant miracle dive
that which I looked up to and I clung to for dear life
had to burn itself up just to make itself alive
I caught you then in your moment of glory
your last dramatic scene against a night sky stage
with a memory so clear it's as if you're still before me
my once in a lifetime star of an age

so fare thee well my bright star
last night the tongues of fire circled me around
this strange season of pain will come to pass
when the healing hands of autumn cool me down

When spirit makes themselves known there is always a reason. The first aim for anyone investigating such an incident is to discover WHY. 

An individual or family becoming ‘aware’ of spirit, especially for the first, time, it can be frightening.  When I am asked to go out in such situations I don’t go with the sole intention of moving spirit on but trying to find out why spirit has made themselves known.  It may be family members who have passed over and are concerned or even happy at what is going on in the family at the present time.  It could also be a previous owner/tenant of the building who has not moved on or there are many more reasons as to why spirit is active.

It is up to the investigator to get to the root of the situation and this done by examining the area at first hand and questioning those who have had the experience.  It can be like a police investigation.  Question after question to see if the ‘experiences’ fits a regular pattern of spirit activity.  If not I have to look in other directions, even that what had been experienced had not been a spiritual nature but someone’s overactive mind.

One case which I was asked to investigate three years ago is only now beginning to make sense.  It shows how close spirit can be to us at times and how the bond between us need never be broken.    I have changed the names of those involved

In 2009 I was contacted by Denise a psychic whom I have known for several years.    She told me that Sarah had contacted her with the following story...

Sarah, her husband John and their two children had been perfectly happy living in a house that they had moved into just after they were married ten years before.  Then one morning their son, 8-year-old Aaron came down to breakfast and told his mum an unusual story.  He said that there had been a lady in his room during the night and she just sat in a chair at the side of his bed looking at him and saying nothing.

This was an unusual comment from Aaron as he is a quiet young lad who his mum said in the past never seemed to have any imagination.  To humour him Sarah asked what the lady looked like.  To her surprise he gave a full description, even the colours of a scarf the lady had been wearing. As his mum had just finished doing a crossword and was doodling in the crossword book, she wrote down the description her son was giving and then forgot all about it.

The following morning Sarah’s five-year-old daughter Louise came down saying the same thing and when her mother asked what the lady looked like she got roughly the same description.  Sarah thought that her daughter must have heard her brother talking about the lady in his room the morning before and was just repeating what she had heard.

But over the next few days Sarah said that it started to get scary around the house.  She felt there was someone in the house when she was there alone and she also said that it was as if she saw a shadow moving around.  This all cumulated in Sarah seeing the figure of a lady for a few seconds.  The lady seemed to be in her early fifties, slim, dark hair, dressed in dark attire with blue/grey silk scarf around her neck.  When Sarah overcame her shock she suddenly thought it was the same vision as the children had seen.    

She panicked. “THE HOUSE IS HAUNTED!”... “THE HOUSE IS HAUNTED!”she screamed.  For the next week Sarah and the children stayed with her parents.  John the husband/father had sensed nothing but was concerned that his wife would not stay in the house alone so he confided in a friend who gave Denise’s telephone number.

This psychic investigator was immediately convinced that this was a genuine spiritual experience. And because of the state of the mother she suggested that she contact a spiritualist church.  Sarah would not do this, although came half way and got a preacher from one of the orthodox churches in the area to bless the house. 

The family moved back in and although John, Aaron and Louise carried on as normal, Sarah was unhappy.  The house was not the same as it had been before the ‘sightings’ and she wanted to move.

This is where I was asked to help and as this was happening 300 miles away, contact had to be made by phone instead of the usual visit.  My first comment would have been to contact a spiritualist church in the area, but as this had already been refused.  So I spent a lengthy time on the phone questioning Sarah over the incident but no real pattern was emerging.  No matter how much I tried to assure Sarah that the situation had calmed down she was still stressed out.  The sighting of the lady had stopped three days before the preacher blessed the house and had not returned. But it was only natural that this mother was still concerned for the safety of her family and was expecting the lady to appear again at any second.  Sarah felt she would never be happy in the house again and wanted to move.  But with the slump in the housing market that was not an option at that time.

A week after I got involved Isobel and I were looking at coach holidays, and as |I saw one was close to Denise and Sarah’s area I felt that this was too good an opportunity to miss. 

Both Denise and I spent about three hours in the house and like Denise in her many visits before, I did not sense spirit.  But the visit did a lot of good as I managed to convince Sarah that when there had been no spirit activity for several weeks and it would probably stays that way.  Whatever the reason for the lady in spirit showing herself was gone and even while the making herself known there was never any threat to the family.  The children had not been distressed and the pet dog and cat had acted as normal...  Sarah slowly accepted this and as the months passed the memories of the ‘sightings’ slowly faded away...

Although the situation had died down and Sarah was slowly getting back to normal, the investigation as far as Denise and myself was concerned was not over.  I did an extensive check on the internet and Denise did her best to check up on former owners of the house but nothing of note came to light.  So we filed this away as what some might refer to as a ‘cold case’ a case that we could not find any answers as to why there was spirit

One should never say a case is closed where spirit is concerned.  At the beginning of this year John contacted Denise and myself with an amazing story -and the answer to who spirit was and why they were making themselves known to his wife and children.

Sarah had a happy childhood, good parents with strong religious values.  She met John when she was eighteen and they got married two years later.   What Sarah did not know was that she was adopted.  On the day she came to her adopted parents they decided that they would not tell her that she was adopted till she was twenty-one.  When Sarah was told she took it well and after talking the whole situation over with her adopted parents and John she decided not to seek out her natural mother, well, at that time but not ruling it out in the future. 

Then last autumn she thought about tracing her natural mother for the sake of her children.   she felt that they had a right to know who their natural grandmother was.  Sarah did trace her natural mother but the sad fact was that she had passed over two years before.  She made slight contact with two of her mother’s brothers but it was only by brief emails.  Then a letter arrived from New Zealand, Sarah had a third uncle which the other two had not mentioned.  This third uncle showed much more interest in his niece and he had sent several photographs of his sister.    All but one was taken when Sarah’s mum was little.  The only one of her natural mother was dated 2005 and Sarah was stunned when she looked at this photograph.  There was a strong resemblance to the lady she and the children saw in the house and the scarf in the photo was a grey/blue pattern....

The so-called ‘cold-case’ was reopened and the first question we set to John was “Please check out the time of your mother-in-law’s passing and the time Sarah and the children were being aware of spirit.  As we expected the dates corresponded.  The mother passed on the 13^th and the ‘experiences started from the 15^th to the 19^th of the same month.

Should Sarah have told us of the adopting?  She did not think it was relevant and only once before did I ever come across something similar so it is not a question Denise or I would normally ask.

If it really was Sarah’s mother coming forward to her daughter after she passed why did she give up so easily?   I don’t think she gave up easily as it takes a lot of energy and determination for spirit to show themselves as the mother/grandmother did.  If she was as caring and loving she would have stepped back when seeing the state her daughter, Sarah was getting into.  Maybe not giving up but waiting for the right moment to try again if the right moment presented its self. 

I asked Sarah why she decided to trace her natural mother when she did and her words were “I was washing the dishes one evening and the thought just came into my head that the children had a right to meet their natural grandmother”.  So.......... could this have been Sarah’s mother guiding her daughter in that direction? 

Now Denise and I can put the file of this case in the ‘solved drawer’

In my last blog I mentioned that the Culmodden Drive Spiritualist Church has not only moved premises but also changed its name. You will now find Angela at

Lambhills Eternal Light Spiritualist Church
Lambhill Stables
Canal bank north
Lambhill bridge
Balmore rd
Lambhill
G22 6RD

Service Tuesdays 7pm

Well there is another change – an extra service that will take place at the same venue every Sunday at 6.30 pm starting 20^th May 2012.