I was recently sent an Internet article that talked about what was
referred to as The Spiritual Path *. Whilst there was some very
interesting and useful information to help relationship issues and other
emotional problems, the majority of the article seemed to focus on New
Age philosophy which has always seemed too ‘airy-fairy’ to me, and
Theosophy. It got me thinking and I should like to share with you the
thoughts that came to me on reading the article.
New Age
practitioners expect one to accept spiritual messages purely on trust,
without any attempt to provide meaningful proof of where such messages
originated; Messages received, allegedly from other planets and solar
systems for instance. Indeed I am of the opinion that so-called New Age
thinking has damaged Spiritualism by encouraging people to accept
‘messages’ even when such ‘messages’ do not contain one jot of evidence
to prove that the individual bringing the ‘message’ is really the person
that the medium claims it to be. Conversely, the greater willingness
of sitters and congregations to accept information without requiring
proof, has made mediums lazy. Far too many appear in public to
demonstrate mediumship before they have developed their psychic gifts to
a competent level where they can fulfill the true requirements of a
medium. i.e. The need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that life
continues in a Spirit World after we leave this one. It is different
when a medium is giving a private, one-to-one, reading. Then the need
for proof, though important, is less essential, especially where the
medium is using his or her gift to help the sitter with an emotional or
spiritual problem. In public though, the need for proof is paramount,
in order that people, other than the recipient of the message, can also
be satisfied that communication between the two worlds is taking place.
There is a need in my view, for a return to basics where
the training of platform mediums is concerned. Every aspiring medium
should be required to provide proof that the communicator they claim to
be receiving information from, really is that person. Such proof will
take many forms, such as physical description, relationship to the
recipient of the message, details of any physical infirmities,
personality, reason for passing to the Spirit World, even addresses,
details of friends, neighbors or relatives and many others. To obtain
such information the medium must not only be sensitive and alert to
information being transmitted from the Spirit World to any of his or her
five physical senses but also maintain two-way communication with the
communicator by asking mental questions. This requires time and a level
of dedication and hard work from the student that seems lacking in
many today.
The other focus of the article was on Madame
Blavatsky's Theosophy which as a Spiritualist I have always found far
too intellectual and exclusive, the fact that Madam Blavatsky was at
first a Spiritualist notwithstanding. The concentration on becoming a
‘Master’ by communing with ‘Arisen Masters’ always seemed to me to be
ego driven and elitist.
I have always believed that we,
as individuals, choose to come to live on Earth in order to learn
spiritual lessons through our interactions with other life that shares
the planet with us. We try to learn tolerance, understanding and how
best to help one another. All this is helped enormously once we have
convincing proof of our immortality through contact with those close to
us who have passed on.
I believe we should be striving
to be the best physical person we can be but also recognizing that we
and all others will frequently fall far short of the ideal. We should
always try to guard against becoming judgmental. At the same time we
should be trying to understand the true relationship that exists between
us and all other life on the planet (animal, vegetable and mineral),
not focussing on trying to become some kind of esoteric "master".
Whilst I think mystics have contributed a great deal to our
understanding of God and our place in the scheme of things, I have never
thought one should encourage people generally to lead lives insulated
from the physical world to a greater or lesser degree. For instance, I
have always questioned the true value of the contemplative life chosen
by nuns and monks in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions. I
believe nuns and monks are sincere in their convictions and many are
truly ‘good’ people but have always wondered about the wisdom of cutting
oneself off from normal physical life when it is the very thing we have
chosen to come to Earth to experience! I know they still have their
human challenges in the nunneries and monasteries but can it be the
same? This is not to say that I disagree with encouraging
contemplation and meditation but I believe such practices should not
take over our lives. They should instead, take their place alongside the
rest of what life on Earth requires of us.
In many ways
the early Spiritualists, with their insistence on treating Spiritualism
as a science that required proof of its claims, were in advance of many
modern Spiritualists and mediums. Returning to basics in my view means
reverting to their approach. After all, they were operating in
societies with a far less liberal attitude towards their Spiritualism
than is the case in many places today. We are much more liberated in
the practice of Spiritualism than were they. It behoves us therefore
to be at least as rigorous as they were in the practice of mediumship.
*http://www.health-science-spirit.com/spiritualpath.html
