My Diary... Road Accident... Spirit Guidance and Gold Stars.... Five Special People... A Spiritual Medium in every sense of the word...Dowsing by Ted Dutton...

21^st May - I travelled the short distance to ASK Neilston.  President Sheila Caruthers was one of the first mediums I saw on the platform of a Spiritualist Church and one of these lucky people who was introduced to Spiritualism at a young age.  Sheila’s mother was a great help in her spiritual development.  Sheila has a wealth of spiritual knowledge which she shares at her open-circle each Wednesday evening. 

22^nd – Again only another short trip to the Paisley Spiritualist Church, Glenburn Community Centre, Paisley.  President Janet Lyon also entered Spiritualism at an early age and like Sheila encouraged by her mother

25^th – I was taking another development  circle at an SNU church and it is great to see that after years of steady development those attending are almost ready to take their first step on to the platform.  All have the ability, the only thing that is lacking, and that is melting away slowly with each session, is the lack of confidence they have in themselves.

25^th Another of my workshops at the Glasgow Association and it is a pleasure to work with those who’s immediate aim is not to fast-track to the platform, but slowly understand their psychic abilities.  I find nothing more pleasing to see the look on the faces of those who begin to understand that they have psychic abilities in some form or other,

26^th - Travelling a bit further this time to the Dunfermline Spiritualist Church (SNU). 3 Lady Campbells Walk, Dunfermline, Fife, KY12 0QH  A well established church which is always well supported,.

1^st / 2^nd June Aberdeen Bon Accord Spiritualist Church (SNU) a busy church with its own premises and has a dedicated committee working hard to promote Spiritualism and the Spiritual needs of the local community.

 

 

Both Isobel and I were involved in a car accident and although the car was a write-off we were lucky not to be seriously injured.

One never knows the minute when something like this will happen.  Two cars coming straight towards me on my side of the road as they over took a line of traffic approaching a bend.  In making an emergency stop the vehicle behind me ran into the back of our car.  We must thank police, ambulance staff, all those at the RAI Infirmary A&E department and the young lady who stopped to offer assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was wondering where I would try out my new camera for the first time, when the phone rang.  It was a friend telling me that she felt sad for a neighbour who would have to give up ownership of her cat because she was going in to a residential home.  My friend could not take the cat because she has an allergy to cats. All of a sudden the thought “Take photos of the cat” came into my head.  This I did taking over one hundred photos while using all the programmes on the camera.  

 Now at the rate of one a fortnight I sent a different photograph- A4 size - of Lucy to the old lady.  With the first photo I also sent a frame which the old soul changes photographs each time a new one arrives.   She may not have her friend running about these days but her eyes never need to travel far to find an image of 'Lucy'. 

 Getting used to my new camera opened a world to the old lady that she felt was gone forever.   Sending a new photo at two week intervals it will take around two years to exhaust the supply of photos I have of Lucy. 

If I had not got the phone call I would probably have gone to the botanic gardens or a local park to get used to the new camera.  Was this a good deed on my part,  or did I grab at the opportunity of a better challenge to try out the camera? A moving and unpredictable object rather than a stationary flower at the Botanic Gardens? 

Could we even look at it from a different angle, could there have been  an invisible force playing a part here?  Was there a little guidance from Spirit that I decided to act upon?  Did Spirit see an opportunity for me to get used to my new camera and in doing so would bring so much happiness to someone else at the same time?  Yes, I believe that to be so. Not just because  I took those photos of Lucy, but also hearing the countless similar experiences of others.

Jill the fourteen-year-old who did not know where the thought came from but suddenly felt as winter was approaching she should offer to get an elderly neighbour's newspaper every morning when she was out walking her dog at 7.30am.  She passed Mr Smith each morning going for his newspaper and although he still looked fit enough but she felt compelled to ask him.  When she did her elderly neighbour said that he had decided at the first bad spell of winter weather he was going to stop going for his daily newspaper.  As the newsagent did not deliver Mr Smith said he would do without a daily paper...

 Charles had made up too much plaster when doing repairs to the house. Just as he was about to discard the extra he got a feeling he should ask a widow over the back if she needed any plaster work done.  She did, as  part of the cornice in her living room had fallen down the day before.  When Charles knocked on the door she was looking up yellow pages for a plasterer.

 What do all three of our experiences have in common?

 1 – Sudden thoughts in our mind...

2 - These thoughts concerning doing something for others...

3 – Others that we did not know too well or not know at all...

4 – Delivering the newspaper, the plastering and taking the photos were all connected to helping out in situations that were troubling others at that particular time.  The timing I feel is the most important factor - the perfect time.  

 So – could all this be coming from the same source – guidance from Spirit?  Guidance we need not adhere to if we wish not too.  Jill, Charles and I could have received these little thoughts and decided not to bother.  Jill could have decided that there might be days when the weather was bad that she may want to stay longer in bed...  Charles could have decided that he could end up with a time consuming job for a neighbour and just binned the plaster.  I could have decided that I could have got used to my new camera without adding a 70-mile round trip on to the practice session.

Could this all be preparing for our 'next life' – all three of us gathering points for when we move over?   If this is the case then it could be easy to fake our way in the accumulation of ‘spirit points’.  Having realised what the ‘great plan’ is we do what the  'guidance' suggest but we don’t put caring / feeling / love into doing whatever it is will we gain as many points?  Maybe a silver star for acting when Spirit guides us into a situation and we carry the task our willingly.  A bronze star when we carry out the task but grudgingly.  And a gold star will only be presented when we are not prompted to helping in a situation - but we willingly help out without Spirit giving us the nudge.

 

 

David sent me an email which I have to think about.

“What individuals over the past few years have you admired for acting in a spiritual or selfless way, yet they were not part of the spiritualist movement?”

In no particular order; -   Dag Hammarskjöld, Anne Frank, Eric Liddle, Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama) and  all those who work with the terminally ill

I will highlight one in each of my next five blogs... Starting with;  -

Dag Hammarskjöld Swedish diplomat, author and second Secretary General on the United Nations 1953 – 61.  He died at the age of 59 as the result of a plane crash which to this day some still consider to be suspicious...  Mr Hammarskjöld was called “the greatest statesman of our century" by President John F. Kennedy. He gained a reputation as a peacemaker, man of faith and a man of peace.  He treated all around him in the same way whether it is a junior member of his staff or a world leader...   If only today’s politicians and even we had Dag Hammarskjöld as a role model the world would be a much better place today.

 

 

 

 

 

I received the following email a few weeks ago.

 “Recently I attended Berkley Street Spiritualist Church, Glasgow and like the rest of the congregation I was humbled by the work of the medium* on the platform that particular evening.  It wasn't his work (which was to his usual standard) it was the fact that he took the service at all.  He put the needs of the congregation before his own.  He thought about those that may need the help.  You will understand what I mean when I say he was at his mother’s bedside the evening before when she went to the spirit world.  He did not want to let spirit and the congregation down so he fulfilled his booking. He travelled a round trip of one hundred miles, alone with his own thought.  But never flinching from what he felt was his duty in serving spirit.  When my own mother passed it was hard, I missed so much in the next few weeks.  He is a true Ambassador for Spirit”.

I have not mentioned the medium’s name as I have not been able to contact him.  When I do contact him and if he agrees I will definitely mention his name.

The term “Ambassador for Spirit” is often abused – it certainly in not in this case.

 

I have had many emails asking me about 'dowsing'.  It is a subject that I have little knowledge off.  So I asked a friend to explain his experiences with 'dowsing''.  Here is the first of the four chapters....

 

    EXPERIMENTS WITH METAL DOWSING RODS

 

                                    T.R. Dutton  ©                                                June 2012

         Chapt. 1                Young Scientists Lead the Way

 Sometime during the late 1960s, when TV sets were all of the black and white variety, I and my family watched a children’s programme, one of a series, with the title “Young Scientists of the Year”. Week by week during that series, school teams competed to gain that title and their efforts were judged by three scientists seated at a table. One programme, in particular, made a lasting impression on me and this is how I remember it.

 The Experiment

            A school team of junior pupils. under the direction of their science teacher, had been presented with a gridded ground plan of a local park. Their task would be to discover the layout of the land drains lying beneath the turf. The tools they were to use for this task were bent metal rods. We were told that each child had been equipped with two slender rods bent through 90º. These had been created from metal coat hangers, cut to size and with the 90º angle produced from one of the corners of each hanger. We were then shown film of the pupils at work in the park. We were told that they had been instructed to hold an image of a pottery drain pipe in their heads and to walk slowly over the grass holding the two rods before them. They would hold the shorter of the two arms of each rod very loosely in their clenched fists and point the longer arm ahead of them, holding it horizontally. Each long arm had to be able to swing about freely in a horizontal arc about the pivoting short arm, which was held vertically in the lightly clenched fist. The long arms had to be kept parallel, horizontal and balanced in unstable equilibrium.

            It was fascinating to watch the rods move in a meaningful way as each child walked along with eyes fixed on the rods to keep them balanced. When, suddenly, the rods swung across each other, the position on the ground below was marked in some way.  The results of the exercise were plotted onto the park keeper’s ground plan.

            In an attempt to resolve the nature of the forces causing the rods to cross, the exercise was repeated, but with the children walking on rubber mats. The results were as before. Correlation with the actual layout of the drains was shown to be high.

 The Scientists’ Appraisal

          Clearly, the disciplined nature of the experiment and the methodology adopted had impressed all three scientists. However, one elderly man with a cheerful countenance, sitting in the middle of the group, surprised everyone by producing a forked hazel twig from beneath the table, As he did so, he told us that he didn’t need convincing that dowsing worked, because he’d been doing it all his life. The school team got full marks for their efforts and for their understanding of the Scientific Method. If I remember correctly, at the end of the series, they were the acclaimed overall winners.

 An Inspired Response and First Experiments

      As soon as that programme finished, I hurried upstairs to our bedroom and searched the wardrobe for suitable wire coat hangers. They were few and far between, but two were eventually found, taken downstairs, cut to size and re-bent to produce the desired 90º angle. They are shown by Fig. 1. The short arm was 7.3inches (18.5 cm.) long, the long arm 15.5 inches (39.4 cm.) In practice, these produced a well-balanced set of rods, even though they were not of the same thickness, being of 10 and 12 SWG, respectively.

The first tests were carried out to locate the drains and water pipes hidden beneath the driveway. The ease and suddenness of the crossing of the balanced  rods was, at first, startling. There had been no sense of movement in my arms or hands to explain these sudden responses. In my imagination, my mind had been fixed on the pipes below ground and I had been preoccupied, with a blank stare, on keeping the rods balanced. Each time the rods crossed, I leant forward, sighting vertically downwards through the intersection,  moved one of my feet forward to mark the point on the surface below, took a piece of chalk from my pocket, bent down and drew a cross at the indicated location. This was done several times at different places on the driveway and then, by visually referencing the locations of drains and water tap access lids, it became apparent that I had successfully detected the courses of the pipes linking them.

            The first, subsequent, tests were carried out indoors, when the water pipe runs  beneath the floorboards were successfully detected.

            Moving into the garden, I began searching for imagined bits of rusty old iron buried under the lawn and borders and was, once more, amazed by the success rate achieved. After having detected something beneath the ground, I then began attempts to determine its depth below the surface. The intuitive method I used was to traverse over the same location, but with an image of a cross-sectional slice of the ground below me, including the undefined detected object, held in my imagination. On each traverse I imagined a certain depth and recited that depth to myself. The strength of response of the rods indicated how far that imagined depth was from the actual location of the object. This process was repeated until the strongest cross-over was obtained. The object (typically a rusty nail or a piece of an old garden tool), was usually found in that location and at that depth.

            During these early experiments in the rear garden, traverses across the lawn produced remarkable results.   It seemed that a large iron object occupied a rectangular slot deep below the surface. Its length was of the order of 6 ft. (1.8m) and its width was about 2 ft. (0.6m).  Depth gauging, using the technique previously described, suggested that it was situated about 6 ft. (1.8m) below the turf.  As I was not prepared to dig up the lawn to investigate it, it remains hidden to this day. Guesses about its nature ranged from a large coffin to a medieval cannon. The latter seemed most likely because the object was aligned with an old Tudor Hall about a mile away.

           During this period, a group of adult friends was invited round for an evening with us. I persuaded them to test their dowsing skills on the back lawn. After registering embarrassed amusement, they were impressed and surprised when the rods in their hands crossed without any effort on their part and without any prompting from me. The only person to fail to get a response from the rods was an elderly lady with multiple sclerosis (MS).  Visiting children seemed to have no difficulties.

            During the early 1970s, I decided to test my skills in a car park behind the wind tunnels department at HSA Ltd., Woodford, Cheshire, during a lunch break. It was a grit-covered area, featuring a large c.20ft. (6m) diameter steel sphere mounted on peripheral steel legs. This sphere was pumped up with air to 100 psi,(0.69MN/sq.m)  used to supply the adjacent Transonic and Supersonic Wind Tunnels.  From the lowest point on the underside projected a substantial steel pipe, about 18 inches (45 cm.) in diameter, which disappeared underground vertically. It then had to curve round the stanchions underground and, finally, to align with the Wind Tunnel building some distance away. The challenge I had set myself was to trace its underground path from beneath the sphere to the building it was supplying. I began by traversing back and forth under the sphere and, each time the rods crossed, I used the point of a rod to scratch a cross into the grit surface. As I progressed away from the sphere it became evident that each traverse has produced two grit crosses, which seemed to indicate the width (diameter) of the buried pipe. In other words, the rods were sensing the limits of the obstruction below: that is , where it began and where it ended, in plan view. As I progressed in that manner towards the building it was becoming clear to me that the pipe intersected the building’s outer wall at right angles. When I completed the exercise and stood beside the sphere, the grit crosses seemed to have created a very clear map of the pipe’s position beneath the car park.

            Next, I sought out the Head of  the Wind Tunnels Workshop during this lunch break period, because I knew he had been on-site when the high speed tunnels had been installed. Obligingly, he walked over to the car park with me, viewed my handiwork and confirmed that a supply pipe of the indicated diameter had been positioned as indicated by my crosses. This was another, albeit subjective, proof of the validity of my supposed dowsing skills.

            During these early years of investigation, my brother-in-law had been about to dig up a plot behind a new-build house, when I called on him.  He knew that this house and plot were located on the site of an old smithy. As I carried the rods in the boot of the car, I asked if I could do an orderly dowsing exercise, looking for rusty old iron, before he began digging. Being intrigued, he stood back and watched me progress in straight lines up and down the plot. Each time the rods crossed, I checked for the depth of the item. Brother-in-law soon became involved in the exercise and dug down to the indicated depth at each location ---- and was amazed when an old iron object (eg. a nail, an old bolt, a piece of broken ploughshare, etc.) was discovered at the depth indicated. This procedure was followed until I had checked over the entire plot, which was, from memory, approximately 50ft x 16ft. (15m x 5m), with a successful outcome at each indicated location. Some weeks later, on a return visit, the plot had been completely cultivated and brother-in-law told me that the only other item he had uncovered had been next to a boundary fence, which meant that I had been unable to check out that area. He had been impressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Edinburgh College of Parapsychology....I meet a fellow researcher.... Fraudulent Mediums.... Medium’s courtesy call.... The Psychic News... Buckfast Abbey... Spirit works with us in so many different ways... A poem by Moira McMillan... Wise words from Anne Frank.... A book by a Scottish author recommended....

 

1^st May - I attended the Edinburgh Psychic College – Know as The Edinburgh College of Parapsychology for a Demonstrations of Evidence of Survival. 

The College is a non-denominational, charitable organisation, which prides itself on its welcoming and all-inclusive attitude

The college aims are:

To provide a better understanding of life after death

To always be respectful to all thoughts and religious beliefs

To provide comfort during periods of sadness and loss

To promote a better understanding of spiritualism

To be at the forefront of training of up and coming mediums

To educate through our extensive spiritualist library, which is second to none in Scotland, housing over 2500 books

To promote discussion and debate

The college has an open door policy to people of all religions and we welcome with open arms anyone who wishes to come along and take part in any activities held within the college. 

Demonstrations of Survival ...Wednesdays 2.30pm - 3.30pm and
Fridays 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Please check website       www.edinburghpsychiccollege.com

2 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7HF...   tele 0131 220 1433


2^nd -  The Lighthouse Spiritualist Church Youth Athletic Club Hall, George Road, Gourock, Inverclyde, PA19 1YT.  Always a well attended church.

5^th – It is always a pleasure to take the service at the Love and Friendship Spiritualist Church.  After many years in the Langside Halls the Church has moved to The Couper Institute, 86 Clarkston Road, Cathcart, Glasgow, G44 3DA.  The service remains on Sundays at 6.30pm Maureen Land Medium / President and her dedicated committee go that extra mile to attend to the needs of all who enter through the doors of the church.

9^th – Taking the excellent development circle that I am always praising. 

The 12^th - 18^th saw us based in Torquay and travelled about Devon for a few days.  Unfortunately Isabel took ill when we were away but we still enjoyed the break.

 

Once again while away I again met up with a fellow psychic researcher, the researcher I have teamed up with more over the years than any other.  “S” is most clinical in her approach to this kind of work and treats each case like a full blown police investigation.  “S” started off with an interest in UFO research and then to psychic detection but now she takes in all aspects of the paranormal experiences of others.  I have always been impressed by her sympathetic

Questioning of those who have had some form of unusual experiences and giving long term support to those who find it difficult to get over or come to terms with their experiences.

“S” is an expert in Tai Chi which s becoming very popular these days and many spiritualists are turning towards this sort of thing.  Rigorous studies have shown that it helps people of all ages, especially those over 65 to reduce stress, improve balance and general mobility also increasing muscle strength.  Several churches have Tai Chi classes on their premises and I have often though a Tai Chi session before a medium goes on the platform would be ideal for getting a strong link with Spirit.

 

Bill sent me several reports on fraudulent mediums and asks me “”What do you think of these?”

Bill I will let G K Chesterton answer you; -, “No conceivable number of false mediums affects the probability of real mediums, one way or the other. This is surely obviously enough. No conceivable number of forged banknotes can disprove the existence of the Bank of England.....  G K Chesterton, scepticism, and spiritualism, Illustrated London News, 1906.

A new medium on the circuit feels that he is not getting the chance he deserves to serve churches. He comments “There are those around me who have others promoting them while I have no one.  I have seven bookings in my diary this year while those who have sponsors have around 15-20 booking in the same period”.  I am not jealous I would just like an even playing field”.

Seven bookings in the first year out of the fledgling stage is not bad and who is to say how many bookings you will pick up in the next seven months.  Better quality than quantity.  Get a good link with your guides each time you appear on the platform and all will see what you are capable off.  Many a new medium has been promoted too fast too soon and after a short time they are never heard of again.  Let Spirit be your agent and I assure you that if the platform is where you are meant to be – you will be there.

Now an email from a booking secretary...

“I owe a lot to our local Spiritualist church. To pull my weight within the church I was always willing to help out in the kitchen.  Then I could not believe it when I was asked to be the booking secretary. This was the first time anyone had put any trust in me and I was not going to let my beloved church down. Recently, because of a few health problems I missed giving a curtsey call to two mediums and they were not too happy.  One said if that happened again she would not turn up.  I know it was my fault but I am shocked that the mediums have been so nasty”.

Courtesy calls are a bone of contention with some mediums and to be honest I would say courtesy calls are a must, as some bookings can be made one or two years in advance.  Much can happen in the interval and a thirty second call can stave off any problems on the night.   But I feel the responsibility is on both the medium and the booking secretary.  As you mentioned you forgot to phone because of health reasons, so surely it is a simple matter for the mediums to phone themselves and check all is OK.  We are all supposed to be Spiritualists after all.  You have encountered two mediums that have not have been as understanding as they should have been.  We are not all like that. I am sure Spirit would have been more understanding. 

Double bookings are another bone of contention with both mediums and booking secretaries.  Although frustrating we are all human and mistakes will be made.  If a church phones me and says that they have double booked then I usually say “let the other medium take the service” as I have plenty of bookings over the years and the other medium may not have as many.  I was always very diligent as far as recording my bookings are concerned. But recently I relied on a small electronic diary which played up and caused a few problems, leaving me double booked a few times.   My fault I take the blame for not keeping two diaries as I did in the past.  The only fair way I could sort it out was honour the first booking taken for that date but I still feel I let the other churches down.  To the churches concerned I apologise again.

 

 

 

Since its relaunch the Psychic news has gone from strength to strength and I have to mention issue 4101 in particular for several interesting articles. 

 “The Killing Debate” by Editor Sue Farrow.  Looks into the well debated topic of 'do animals have souls' and humans killing animals for food'.

 In the Personal Opinion page Edinburgh Medium and researcher Ewan Irvine comments on “Science and the Paranormal”.

My favourite section of this magazine is The Letter Page where the ordinary Spiritualists can air their views. If you have a gripe or praise about our religion don’t keep it to yourself, use this page to let others know.

 

 The highlight of our trip to Devon was visiting Buckfast Abbey.  The name “Buckfast” can mean different things to different people.  On the brighter side this magnicent Abbey which dates back to 1147 is set in a lovely part of the countryside and surrounded by large gardens.  Inside and out there is an amazing peaceful atmosphere and we plan to go back when the gardens are in full bloom.

The Abbey is self-supporting, with a farm where vegetables are grown and bees, pigs and cattle are kept, a shop which sells wine, honey beeswax, fudge and other items made by religious communities throughout the world, and a gift shop, book shop, and restaurant.  But it is the wine - the Buckfast tonic wine – that usually springs to mind when the name Buckfast is mentioned.   This relatively cheap tonic wine is abused especially by the young and the antics of many who have partaken of this wine have devastated many a community here in Scotland. 

On the positive side I heard of a 93-year-old who put being in good health and active at ninety-three was down to taking half a glass of Buckfast Tonic Wine every day for over fifty years.   But these days he is concerned at going into his local shop and asking for this wine.  “People look on me as a wino as the bottle is handed over to me” he said.  Like everything this wine can be used as intended or abused.

 

 

...SPIRIT WORKS WITH US IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS....

One evening about 6.15pm I got a call from a church asking if I could take their service in just over an hour’s time as the booked medium had taken ill at the last moment.  I said “yes” and had barley time for a shower and get dressed if I was going to get to the church on time.

I rushed out of the house grabbing a tie and suit jacket without putting them on.  While driving I glanced down at the passenger seat to where my jacket and tie were lying and was horrified to see the tie I had brought with me.  It was one I had been given as a present and never worn, it certainly did not go with the shirt I had on.  Normally this would not have bothered me but all the way to the church I kept thinking “This tie just does not fit in with what I am wearing”.

I reached the church with only a few minutes to spare and as I was walking up the steps to the community centre I was putting a knot on the tie.  All of a sudden I heard a young girl’s voice saying “Grandpa – that is my daddy’s tie – that man must have got it from the charity shop”.  Somehow that made me have more negative thoughts about the tie but as I was immediately stepping on to the platform the minute I entered the building I forgot all about the tie.

All during the service I could not take my eyes of a lady sitting in the back row and with the last message of the evening I went to her.  After the service she came up and said “This is the first time I have ever been in a spiritualist church.  My husband past four months ago and I felt I had to come to a spiritualist church this evening.  I came with my daughter and my father but my father felt this was not the place for my daughter so he took her home.  I was going to leave also but when you stepped on the platform I noticed your tie.  Johnnie my husband had a tie like that, he wore it a lot and we put it into a charity shop with his other clothes”.

 The widow went on to say that after her father and daughter had left the church she was about to follow them as she felt it was maybe a mistake in coming in the first place.  As she got up to go I stepped on the platform and she could not believe I was wearing the same pattern on the tie that her husband wore that would have been the daughter I heard as I was entering the church and I wondered on the way home. “Was it spirit’s wish that I wore that tie on that particular evening?”  As I saii had never worn the tie before that evening and never since.

Yes – it could have been a coincidence – but such situations have happened in the past especially with ties.   Several times I have put on a tie and changed it before going out to a church and usually when that happens the ties comes in as part of the message..

I have many ties but at this particular time the only colour of tie I did not have was a red on.  Then on being given a red tie for a birthday or Christmas present I felt it was too bright and did not wear it.  One evening I did put it on for a service and while giving a gentleman a message from his father the tie seemed to dazzle me.  So I mentioned “Your dad wore a tie, in fact I believe a red tie was his favourite”.  The son replied “My father never went out without wearing a tie and the only ties he would wear were red ties, although not as bright as yours”.

Friend who is also a medium had similar experiences with her grandmother’s brooch.  She did not wear the brooch as she was frightened she would lose it as it was the only personal item she had of her grandmother.

Well, she did wear it twice and both times while taking a service.  She had been given a lovely blouse as a present but she felt it was too low at the neck.  She decided that a brooch would keep the neckline that little bit higher so she wore her grandmother’s brooch, but only putting it on before she went on the platform, and taking it off immediately afterwards.  The twice she wore this brooch on the platform were  eighteen months apart, both times it came into the message.

The first time she said to a lady “”Your aunt had an old fashioned brooch like this – it was her pride and joy”.  The lady replied “Yes – and I now have this brooch”.  The second occasion it was the colour of the brooch she mentioned and it also could be accepted as good evidence.

Now again all this could be down to coincidence but this medium said in all her years on the platform as far as she can remember these two occasions were the only times she can remembers describing an item of jewellery in great detail.

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

 

Over the 2 ½ years. The site has been running. I’ve been asked several times to comment on psychometry and I’ve never got round to it. Over the next four blogs I will have  Roy Dutton’s  “Experiments “With Metal Dowsing Rods”.

Roy, a retired aerospace engineer and author has been researching the paranormal since  the early 1960s.

 

 

Please check out my Recommended Page as I have details of an excellent book which will give you so much information on how you can develop your psychic abilities.

 

 

 

Sanctuary changes format of Divine Service.... Your comments on 2013 – a Crucial Year for Spiritualism... Bullying...

 

 

15^th to 19^th April we where based in Folkestone but travelled throughout Kent and we had a day trip over to Calais. Usually during such trips I try to meet up with fellow spiritualists or researchers, this time it was the latter...

16^th April - I took the service at the Inverness Spiritualist Church (SNU) at the Smithton Hall.  This church is always well supported and has a very active committee which has done a lot over the years to promote spiritualism in the North of Scotland.   It is now two years since Rupert and Niki Baxter-Smith stepped down from the committee.  Niki as president for almost a decade Rupert, treasurer for the same length of time.   But is good to see that although their health is failing a little both still manage to get along to the church, in fact Rupert was chairing for me on my recent visit.

25^th It was a pleasure to be part of the development circle whose sitters as I have mentioned before are so enthusiastic and have a great thirst for learning.

28^th I was at the Milngavie and Bearsden Spiritualist Sanctuary. This sanctuary has only been open for eight months and already has made great inroads to improving the spiritualist movement. More about this in a moment.

 

 

 

 

Recently there have been calls for the change in the format of our Spiritual Services. Some interesting new proposals put forward that are worthy of debate but others it looks like change just for the sake of change.  Do we need changes to our format?  Like everything else we cannot stand still and should always try to move forward, go with the flow, about big changes to bring in the younger members to our churches.  Personally I don’t think here in Scotland we have a problem in getting the young to attend our churches.  But we cannot make radical changes to suit one group who are not yet members of our movement at the expense of those who have attended our churches for years.  We cannot let the tail wag the dog.

Here in Scotland, Glasgow in fact, we have seen change to our service, a small tweak here and there which has added, not detracted, from our communication with God and Spirit.  In August last year Glasgow medium Elizabeth Halliday was guided to open a spiritual place of worship and into being came the Milngavie and Bearsden Spiritual Sanctuary - not Church.  Now I know a lot of our Spiritualist places of worship have dropped the name “Church” for ‘Centre’ but that title can be confused with Psychic Centres by the general public.  I feel the “Sanctuary” was a good move.

Then the time of the Divine Service - a Sunday afternoon.  I know of only one other church in the area which holds a Sunday afternoon service.     This gives the people of Glasgow an alternative from the one morning and many Sunday evening services we have at the moment.

The changes did not end there as Elizabeth decided to omit the opening prayer.  In its place there is five minutes of contemplation which gives us our own personal space to link with God, our loved ones in Spirit, or just to reflect on our week. Not something I would have considered but I must say that I was impressed as with each minute for reflection passed’ I could feel the atmosphere getting stronger and spirit drawing closer There is still the closing prayer.

The “healing Service takes place during the Divine Service.  Three minutes session of Healing for each patient and each session is finished by the gentle clash from mini-cymbals.  All this adding to the atmosphere within the church and we all get the benefit of the healing energies.

Small changes that have made a big impact to the Divine Spiritual Service in a positive way.  No shouting about change – no dramatic changes – just a small tweak here and there.  I would recommend committee members of Spiritualist Churches in the area go along to the Fraser Centre, Douglas St, Milngavie, Glasgow, G62 6PA and experience this change in format.  It may be for your church or it may not but go along and see.

Keeping with Elizabeth’s Sanctuary...  Laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday in Whitehall has for a long time been an issue between the SNU and the British government, considering that other UK religious denominations are represented at the national service of remembrance and Spiritualism is not.. But individual spiritualist churches throughout the country do take part in local remembrance services, the Stirling church (SNU) being one. Recently I asked Stirling churches President Linda Buchan how this came about and she replied “We were asked to take part in the service”. Well, it was the same with the Milngavie spiritualist sanctuary they were asked to take part in the local remembrance ceremony even though they had only opened its doors a few weeks ago. I hear constantly from spiritualists “We never get to the remembrance day services”. Well, if your church is not asked to take part it is up to you to ask to be included. 

 

Continuing with your comments on my “2013 A Crucial Year for Spiritualism”.

Vera emails; -“Maybe the way some of your churches advertise the mediums to their platform is a big part of the problem.  My spiritual church will put in our advert in the local paper something like ‘The medium for Sunday evening is John Smith from wherever’.   But some churches go over the top with their comments of the medium especially on facebook, so what have the general public to think?

Yes this is a good point this has been creeping in for some years now and something that can be easily rectified if the committee is willing to put the church and spirit before or on an equal footing with the medium.

Dawn is on roughly the same track with “Not so much on their websites but certainly on facebook mediums seem to advertise themselves as being at a particular church and the way they put it is is as if they want their fan-club to come along and see them.  Surely a regular church goer would turn up at a church what every medium was on?”

Yes – again the emphasis being on the medium not the religion or Spirit.

Ralph – “Lack of education as to what spiritualism is about.  A couple of workshops and many feel they know it all, whether it is on the platform or opening a church.  There is little deep-rooted knowledge of what spiritualism is really about these days”

Again the fast-tracking that we experience in our everyday lives and has certainly entered our movement.

 Anne “Money is at the root of all the problems spiritualism has to day.  Too many wanting to make a living out of their psychic abilities, a good living.  Our churches were closer to Spirit and God when we had amateurs on our platforms.  Many use our churches as a springboard to a lucrative career. Maybe we would see a big change if churches banned those from their platform who participated in theatre performances and house-parties”.

Strong words from Anne and in the end if things go the way they are going, it might come that we have to take drastic measures.  But surely before we reach that a little common sense all around can sort things out?  But are we too far down the entertainment and financial paths for common sense to sort it out?  I believe in the end a compromise can be found by the mediums/churches making a decision as to what path they are on.  Either the path of religion or entertainment or making a good living from their abilities.   Make that clear and we can all live in harmony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have taken the following from Facebook: -

The boy you punched in the hall today. Committed suicide a few minutes ago.

That girl you called a slut in class today. She’s a virgin.

The boy you called lame. He has to work every night to support his family.

That girl you pushed down the other day. She’s already being abused at home.

That girl you called fat. She’s starving herself.

The old man you made fun of cause of the ugly scars. He fought for our country.

The boy you made fun of for crying. His mother is dying. You think you know them.

There are so many forms of bullying and it can have a devastating effect on those at the sharp end.    Some don’t realise that they are causing so much suffering with their little jokes at the expense of others.  What they think is a sense of humour is actually a form of bullying. Then there are those who get morbid satisfaction with outright bullying.  The more they see the victim getting distressed the stronger and more constant the bullying becomes. 

Recently I was talking to victim of bullying who just could not take any more. They said they had been bullied for years and in the past only managed to cope because they knew that when they got home and slammed the door closed they were was safe.  Safe till the next time they went to school, their workplace or shopping

But now-a- days with modern technology they could not even get a little respite in their own home. They were bullied by text and email.   This forced them to give up their mobile phone and Internet connection.  But they still worry about what is being said about them on the social networks. They were getting to a stage where they did not want to go out at all; their quality of life was zero.  They felt that death was a better option than a life of being continually bullied.

Thankfully in this case help came over the horizon in the form of a new work colleague.  Within days of starting in the job he set in motion the work’s procedure to stop bulling in the workplace.  The victim now getting the help they should have got a long time ago.   The scars of the bullying run deep in their mind and we can only hope and pray at the age of thirty-five they can finally lead a life free of fear and persecution.

Not all victims of bullying are so lucky.  On a regular basis we see in the media that someone has taken their own life because of bullying.  Many a time it is someone of school-age whose life has barely began, yet in their short time on the earth plane was like being in hell.


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