Part 1
Starting from Scratch
So what exactly are we talking about when we say the word mediumship? Because there are so many different sources available today and so many different meanings ascribed to the words that we use, I think a good way to start this book is by defining our terms. More than likely, we are discussing the very same issues, situations, and experiences.
Semantics, however, often has a way of building roadblocks to understanding rather than helping people to communicate better. Let's talk first about some different terminology that will be used throughout this book, so that we're all starting with the same information.
1 Defining Terms
A medium is someone who is sensitive to the vibrations of the spirit world and can communicate with entities there. This person may also relate messages from those in the spirit world to those here in the physical world. A medium is different from a psychic. The difference between the two hinges on the concept of spirit contact. A psychic picks up her impressions through ESP, or extrasensory perception.
She may also utilize telepathy, or a mind-to-mind link with the person for whom she reads (although the psychic may or may not be aware of this method of retrieving information). A medium gets his information directly from Spirit. He may communicate with his client's loved ones who have passed, or information may come from his client's spirit guides. This direct link makes the information very accurate and reliable. I believe that many psychics receive their impressions from their own spirit guides but just don't realize it. They would probably enhance their readings immeasurably if they learned how to work more closely with their spirit people.
Now, just a side note: please don't take this comparison between psychics and mediums as some sort of one-upsmanship. There are many talented psychics working today who are not mediums, and I am not suggesting that they all need to become mediums to be better professionals. I can only speak from my own experience, which illuminates for me how much more accurate the readings I have done for my own clients have been since I've learned to work with Spirit in my practice. Everyone must follow the path that is right for his or her own individual progression. Becoming a medium was the way to go for me; it might not be for everyone. For you, however, who have picked up this book to learn more about communicating with Spirit, let's move on.
Mediumship, then, can be defined as the process by which a medium establishes contact with an entity in the spirit world and communicates with that entity. The entities in the spirit world can be human, as in the case of passed loved ones and spirit guides, or a medium may contact angels, animal energies (such as beloved pets), and elemental energies (such as faeries). After-death communication can be included under the umbrella of mediumship, for it refers specifically to the process of communicating with someone who has experienced the change called death and dwells now on the Other Side.
Summerland is one of the myriad terms used to describe what people experience after they transition from their physical life. In this book, we will refer to the afterlife as Summerland, the Other Side, the spirit world, and possibly other names. Summerland comes from the Welsh Gwlad Yr Haf, which translates into "the Land of Summer" and is the origin of the Wiccan term for the otherworld (Spiral Dance 2004). Summerland is all around us here in the physical plane, but most of the time, we cannot see it or sense it in any way. This is because everything in the spirit world vibrates energetically at a much higher rate than we do in our plane of existence. Higher vibrations cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor can they be picked up using the normal senses of hearing, touch, taste, sight, and smell. Occasionally, we are able to tap into the spirit world, often when we're not even trying. Have you ever seen movement out of the corner of your eye, but when you turned to look in that direction, you saw nothing at all? More than likely, you just saw a spirit moving past you in Summerland. When we as mediums work with Spirit, we have to heighten our vibrations to hear, see, or sense them. We'll talk more about that process later in the book.
Summerland, though, is a wonderful place, and we can learn to have access to those who dwell there, like our passed loved ones and spirit guides.
Spirit guides are the people in Spirit who work with us, performing a variety of duties. We have at least five main spirit guides. Before our current incarnation, while we were still in Summerland, these particular guides agreed to aid us while we took on another lifetime. As we grow spiritually during our physical incarnation, our guides grow spiritually on the Other Side. They are our closest companions, and they will be with us until we make our transition to Summerland, where they will meet us again. We'll discuss all of our different guides at length in Part Three, "Who's Who in the Spirit World."
Spirit (with a capital S) is a catch-all way to refer to those who dwell in Summerland, as well as a word that highlights belief in Creator. When a medium mentions communicating with Spirit or being led by Spirit, he is acknowledging the influences of his spirit guides and teachers, his passed loved ones, and his connection and faith in a higher power. Most people refer to this divine presence as God. Some people, though, are uncomfortable with that term because of its connotation of God as a male entity. I prefer a more general, gender-neutral term, which is why I personally refer to that divinity as Creator most of the time. In Spiritualism, many mediums and ministers prefer the term Mother-Father God to remind us that within Creator we find both male and female energies. Creator is the ultimate source of balance; it only makes sense that Creator holds both of these energies within Itself. Spiritualist mediums will often refer directly to Spirit, as we believe that Creator gave us Spirit to help us in our everyday matters as well as to guide us ever closer to the source of ultimate love and goodness in the Universe.
A Spiritualist is one who believes, as the basis of his or her religion, in the communication between this world and the spirit world by means of mediumship and who endeavors to behave in accordance with the highest teachings derived from this communication. Spiritualism is a science, a philosophy, and a religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication by means of mediumship with those who live in the spirit world (National Spiritualist Association of Churches 2002, 35). A person does not have to be a Spiritualist to be a medium, nor does she have to convert to Spiritualism in order to practice or believe in spirit communication. Many of the world's great religions have elements of spirit communication prevalent in them. In Jewish tradition, the Kaballah is studied as a mystical connection to Creator. The Christian Bible is filled with instances of prophecy, healing, and other spirit phenomena. The Muslim religion is based upon the Koran, which was given to the prophet Mohammed by the angel Gabriel. The Pagan traditions have many connections to ancient, esoteric mystery schools, which highlight divination, prophecy, and healing. Many Eastern philosophies, like Hinduism and Buddhism, endorse the idea of reincarnation. Most major religions teach a belief in an afterlife and encourage their followers to work hard to ensure a place there after this lifetime. A belief in mediumship and communication with those in the spirit world doesn't seem too out of place next to these faiths and their systems.
Although a person does not have to be a Spiritualist in order to practice or believe in mediumship, the interest in after-death communication and the proof of its reality began with Modern Spiritualism in the United States. In the next chapter, we'll take a few moments to discuss the birth of this movement and its repercussions, which are still felt throughout the world today.
2 Modern Spiritualism
Modern Spiritualism began on March 31, 1848, in the small, quiet town of Hydesville, New York. So what happened on that March evening that so changed the perception of people about the spirit world?
The movement of Spiritualism can be traced to a house owned by Margaret and John Fox, who moved into the home in December of 1847. The Foxes had an older son, David, who lived on his own farm, as well as three daughters. Leah, the eldest, was not present that evening, although she later became a famous medium. Margaretta, also called Maggie, and Catherine, also called Katie, were home on the night of March 31, along with their parents. The incidents that incited the birth of Spiritualism are recounted in Hydesin History, by M. E. Cadwallader.
Through most of their stay in the house, the family had heard noises that they couldn't explain. In January 1848, the noises became knockings, sometimes heard in the bedroom, sometimes heard in the cellar. The rappings often caused tremors throughout the house. During the month of February, the knockings became so distinct and continuous that the family had a hard time resting at night. Of course, they tried to pinpoint the cause of the knocks, but they could only ascertain that the noises came from inside the house. No other cause could be found. Other phenomena also manifested, such as Katie feeling a cold hand upon her brow; an invisible presence, like a dog, that settled on the bed one night; and the pulling of the covers off the bed as well.
On Friday, March 31, 1848, the family, weary from so many sleepless nights and countless investigations into what was causing the trouble, retired early. They had moved all their beds into one roo...
