Fear

Know well, my soul,
God's hand controls
Whatever you may fear,

Trust that hand, remembering...:

"Walk in the light,
And you shall own,
That fellowship of love,
His spirit only can confer,
Who dwells in light above."


May your weekend be filled with light, joy and happiness.

Lionel

Four Definitions of Spiritualism as a Religion

Emma Hardinge-Britten, probably the finest early advocate for Spiritualism, set down the following definitions in the 1870's and I feel they are as applicable today as they were then. I would only add that these days it is widely accepted by Spiritualists that the judgement in definition three, is carried out by ourselves after arrival in the spirit world and not by a third party.


1) Spiritualism proves by a set of obviously supernatural phenomena, that a world of invisible intelligence is communicating with us.

2) It demonstrates by an immense array of proven facts given all over the world, under circumstances that preclude the possibility of collusion or human contrivance, that the communicating intelligences are identical with the souls of mortals who once lived on earth.


3) It shows by universal agreement in the communications, that every living soul will be judged for the deeds done in the body and reaps the fruit of its good or evil life on earth, in happiness or suffering hereafter.

4) All the communicating spirits agree in declaring that the life succeeding mortal death is not a final state but one which manifests innumerable conditions of progress; and these four propositions I emphatically protest are ALL the spiritual facts we know to be absolutely proved, or upon which all the immense varieties of persons that make up the ranks of Spiritualism, can absolutely agree.

The Rose

Near a shady wall a rose once grew,
Budded and blossomed in God’s free light,
Watered and fed by morning dew,
Shedding its sweetness, day and night.

As it grew and blossomed, fair and tall,
Slowly rising to loftier heights,
It came to a crevice in the wall,
Through which there shone a beam of light.

Onward it crept with added strength,
With never a thought of fear or pride,
It followed the light through the crevice’s length
And unfolded itself on the other side.

The light, the dew, the broadening view,
Were found the same as they were before
And it lost itself in beauties new,
Breathing its fragrance more and more.

Shall claim of death cause us to grieve,
And make our courage faint or fall?
Nay, let us faith and hope receive,
The rose still grows beyond the wall.

Scattering fragrance far and wide,
Just as it did in the days of yore.
Just as it did on the other side,
Just as it will for evermore.

Love the Earth

Imagine the earth as seen from deep space in those marvellous pictures transmitted back to us from the Apollo missions. That wonderful blue globe so beautifully suspended in space.

Feel the yearning for home that the astronauts felt when they beheld the beauty of this vision. In recognition of the vision, relate to the earth. Pursue the logic which follows from this and earth is no longer "IT" or "HER" but "YOU".

Use the word "YOU" as an affirmation of the continuing relationship between yourself and everything you touch. The cat is "YOU"; the dog is "YOU"; your pots and pans are "YOU"; the plants are "YOU" and the rocks and soil are "YOU". The very universe becomes a second person universe, a cosmos of relationship.

And so you take a step nearer reality... From relationship, love grows - pure, unconditional love. Such a love has a curious property that, of all the opposites in our world of opposites, it alone can transcend the other pole of the argument. For love is not just a warm, cosy, sentimental feeling. It is total will-to-union. Consequently, it is not oppposed to hatred. It is not opposed to anything. Just as you do not need to shovel out all the darness from a room before you fill it with light, so love simply dissolves hatred. Its very nature swallows it up. It is the opposite only of the illusory world of perceived opposites.

And so unconditional love of your planet and of your co-habitors of it can help restore to you the total inter-relatedness which is the very gateway to universal
reality. Thanks to its vision of wholeness, will-to-union eventually becomes union itself. The second person universe turns into a first person reality.

Foregoing self, the universe grows "I". In other words, lose self and we discover our true selves in everything around us.

This is an excerpt from "Beyond All Belief" by Peter de Lemesurier

The Sacred White Buffalo

I am sure many of you will have read about these sacred animals at sometime. You probably even heard about the birth of a white buffalo calf some years ago. I know I did, so when recently my friends Janet and Tommy from Phoenix, Arizona offered to take me to Flagstaff to see the white buffalo, I jumped at the chance.

I was captivated by these beautiful animals, although at the same time I was sad to see them in pens, rather than roaming the range as they were born to do. Their owners, Jim and Dena Riley are planning to move away from Flagstaff before long so that they can provide just such an open range for their charges. Keeping buffalo in pens can be an expensive business, for all their food (and they eat a lot) has to be purchased. If their plans materialise, this expense will be vastly reduced because the animals will be able to graze.

Here is part of Jim and Dena’s story about the white buffalo, in their own words:

“In the spring of 1987, a female white buffalo was born on the edge of the Black Hills of Wyoming. At the time of her birth, a young bull in the pasture tried to kill the newborn calf by flipping her fifteen feet into the air. The rancher, Jim Riley was there and witnessed the event. Risking his own life, he rushed to save the newborn as she was being flipped for the second time. It was a miracle the little girl was not killed. The ranchers, Jim and Dena Riley named the little miracle “Miracle Moon”.

A white buffalo is extremely rare. So rare in fact, that out of less than ten white buffalo tested genetically by a DNA test, only “Miracle Moon” tested 100% North American Bison. Miracle Moon has been tested not only once, bit three times for purity! Most white buffalo occur due to interbreeding with cattle. The result is called a beefalo/cattleo. Miracle Moon is not an albino she has large dark eyes, with blond eyelashes and she was born on a Native American spiritual leader’s birthday!

All the white females have been tested for purity.

Since her birth, Miracle Moon has lived up to her name. On June 8th 2000, she gave birth to her first born, “Rainbow Spirit”. Surprisingly, Rainbow Spirit also turned white, a little whiter than her mother, with a white stripe down her back. Miracle Moon’s second daughter, “Mandela Peace Pilgrim,” born July 18th 2001 was just like her mom and sister. Miracle Moon’s third calf, her first male born July 1st 2002, we named “Arizona Spirit”. He was born just like his big sister Rainbow Spirit, with a white stripe down his back. These were all fathered by a dark buffalo, our herd sire, “Willy Wonka”.

The white buffalo are known to be healers. Many have come and shared their healing stories with us. These stories were very moving indeed. It was also predicted that a white female buffalo would be born to a white couple near the centre of North America, which is where Miracle Moon and Rainbow Spirit were born. The address was Belle Fourche, SD. Known as ‘The centre of the Nation’.

According to Native prophecy, the white buffalo is a symbol to all people to join together in peace, balance and harmony. The legend says that the white buffalo would return during a period of chaos and disaster. The female white buffalo was to be a sign to Native Americans to seek peace, balance and harmony in their New World. It is for this reason we feel Miracle Moon’s birth is important to all people, regardless of race, culture or religion. Now at the beginning of this new millennium we should individually seek a balance of tolerance and peaceful solace in the message of the Great White Buffalo.”

The Native American prophecy concerning the white buffalo tells the story how nineteen generations ago, during a time of famine a beautiful maiden appeared to two Lakota Indian braves. She asked them to take her to their camp to speak to their chief. She presented the chief with a bundle containing a peace pipe and explained its purpose. She described it as the way Indians should pray, for in the smoke their prayers would ascend. The red earthen bowl represented “Mother and Grandmother Earth,” which is sacred; the buffalo carving on the bowl symbolised the “four leggeds” on earth and the wooden stem the plants. The feathers attached to the pipe symbolised “the wingeds” of the earth. She said, “All these are joined to you who smoke the pipe. When you pray with this pipe you pray for everything.”

She left a prophecy that said at the end of time there would be five years of increasing disasters and crises which would be followed by an era of peace. She said she would return one day to mark the beginning of the five years of trouble and to bring healing to the earth. Leaving the pipe with the tribe, she was transformed into a white buffalo as she walked away. The ecumenical Peace Pipe she brought has been handed down for nineteen generations and is perhaps the most sacred object of the American Indians. It is from this legend all Indians derive their understanding of the Peace Pipe.

Miracle Moon was born on the birthday of Arvol Looking Horse, who is the keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Pipe! Her daughter Rainbow Spirit was born on the death day of Arvol’s father, Stanley Looking Horse. Arvol said his father predicted her birth!

Humanity and Religion – Time to use the Spiritual Option?

Of what are we afraid, that we continue to persecute those who demonstrate through their spiritual gifts, that the human personality survives death? Surely such persecution ceased with the end of the Inquisition and the repealing of the Witchcraft Acts in Britain in 1951? Although the persecution is a little more subtle today, it is still there and as unthinking and uncaring as ever. Indeed the use by the government of EEC Directives to repeal the Fraudulent Mediums Act is yet another example of exactly this.

Intolerance loves to quote scripture in defence of its prejudice but no thinking person can accept the claim of priests, of any and all denominations, that their particular scriptures are ‘the word of God’. Doubtless much scripture has been spiritually inspired but that inspiration has from time to time been edited to suit the prejudices of particular individuals. For instance, the much quoted Old Testament injunction, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” was almost certainly inserted in the Authorised or King James Version of the Bible because the authors knew the king went in fear of witches. It does not appear in earlier editions.

Religion has brought and continues to bring, much comfort and solace to many and I would be the last to deny this. It has also inspired great works of art and produced some truly humble and spiritual individuals. However, no religion so far has escaped the all too human trap of becoming dogmatic and intolerant when achieving temporal power, be it minor or major. I mentioned earlier in the book the edict that man was specially created by God in His own image and the physical, instead of the spiritual interpretation of this has been used by theologians to excuse much cruelty and worse. Scientists, from Medical Doctors to Physicists and from Astronomers to Naturalists would not be held in the awe and almost god-like reverence they are today were it not that religion had prepared the way. Such reverence clouds the judgement and leads, all too easily, to unquestioning acceptance of scientific pronouncements. The narrow interpretations placed upon scientific discoveries and the irrational outbursts when lay people dare to question the assumptions of scientists, can without doubt be laid at the door of ecclesiastical arrogance and prejudice. The arrogance that pronounced the Pope as infallible, for instance

In my view religion has a vital role to play but the need to replace temporal with spiritual power is now paramount.

Not only should religion focus on building spiritual power but it should teach everyone how to do so. To keep such knowledge hidden is self-defeating. Jesus of Nazareth demonstrated that spiritual power is all conquering and said to his disciples with reference to his 'miracles', “greater things than these shall you do.” However, achieving such heights of spiritual power requires enormous effort, dedication and hard work. This Jesus gave unstintingly in preparing for his ministry.

The power of the spirit is an inner power and only by single-minded concentration on our inner selves can it be fully utilised. It does not mean cutting ourselves off from ordinary life, although spending time alone is vital during the development stages. It also requires that we deny primacy to the ego and eschew the drive for temporal power. In order to find ourselves we must first lose 'ourselves'. The physical self or ego, dominated as it is by mother nature, must be subordinated to the higher self or spirit and the challenge of achieving this is perhaps the most difficult we can set ourselves.

Because the Nazarene taught people to “turn the other cheek,” many regard his way as weakness; the soft option. On the contrary, he was the strongest of men. The courage and strength needed to develop and exercise true spiritual power, such as his, is huge. One look at what has happened in our world by following the strong option, the dictum of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” shows it is high time to use the alternative. Even a child can see that violence creates more violence: Hatred breeds greater hatred. The problems persist and no wonder; the ‘strong’ way is the negative way.

We need to become positive. Negation operates in darkness and produces greater darkness. Spiritual power and the love which is its source, is positive and produces light. Just as switching on the light in a dark room dissolves the darkness, without having to physically eject it first, so switching on the light of spiritual power in our darkened world will dissolve the darkness of violence, hatred and misery. We won’t have to fight to physically remove the darkness, it will dissolve. The darkness of hatred, violence and selfishness cannot exist in the bright light of unselfish spiritual power. The fight, for make no mistake there will be one, will take place within each one of us as we develop the power of the higher self. We will have to fight to overcome our physical nature, our ego. If you ever wondered what purpose is served by placing human beings on earth, surely there can be no nobler one than this.

We need to trust in the power of the spirit. Once we have the courage to grasp the torch, we will not be alone. There are legions in the spiritual world that will spare no effort to help us. Remember, they will be able to draw close much easier once we become more aware of our higher selves. Also, when this day dawns there will be no need for mediums to enable communication between earth and the spiritual word – each person will become his own medium!

This is an extract from my book "Please God Why?"

Charles Darwin

The two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Darwin is being celebrated this year, so it seems an appropriate time to look at his defining work “Origin of Species” from the point of view of a Spiritualist.

There were Naturalists before Charles Darwin of course but there is no doubt that the publication of his book “The Origin of Species” led to them being considered as serious scientists for the first time. It also shocked the world and brought about other profound changes. Indeed some would argue the gradual change it brought in human understanding was one of the most profound. This affected not just the way naturalists thought and were regarded but also how ordinary people viewed religion and the nature and history of humanity itself. Its effect on the rise of materialism as a viable alternative to religion is undoubted. Without it Engels and Marx would have had fewer disciples and perhaps the advent of Dialectic Materialism and Communism would have been much delayed or not been invented at all.

Charles Darwin was advancing a theory but backed by the fossil and other evidence from his researches on the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere, it was very convincing. The Christian church at the time of publication was the most influential and feared power in the Western world, maybe even in the entire world. For this reason Darwin refused to publish for many years, preferring post mortem publication. He knew the awesome influence the church wielded over the careers of scientists. He only published when forced to do so by the threat of pre-emption from a colleague. When “Origin” appeared the church stood aghast and refused to accept Darwin’s interpretation of his investigations and to a degree still does so to this day. Evolution and ‘the survival of the fittest’ ran contrary to the church doctrine that God had created man specially and what’s more, “in His own image”. One can imagine the ribald cartoons at the time depicting the image of God now it was known our closest relatives were chimpanzees!

When I look back and think about the furore created by Darwin, I think how unnecessary it all was. Had the church, driven I suppose by the desire to extend its power and influence, not been so arrogant as to pronounce dogmatically on matters temporal, all this could have been avoided. If only it had always stuck to its spiritual last …! However, this is to ignore human nature. Darwin’s theory of evolution describes the origin and growth of animals and man as physical beings. Because of the unwise utterances of the church and its insistence that it was infallible, his most extreme followers were able to infer that Darwin had proved man to be nothing but a physical being, the latest and to date the most effective adaptation of animal life. In other words he had destroyed God and debunked all things spiritual.

One object in writing this is to persuade you such an interpretation is nonsense and to explain why I believe that. We, as modern human beings, have a great compulsion to compartmentalise our studies, unlike earlier ages where holistic study was considered de rigueur. Although the advent of specialisation has enabled us to learn ‘more and more about less and less’, I sometimes wonder if the price has not been too high. There is no doubt the greater material prosperity of the developed world, as it is called, owes much to this specialisation but the price has been to make many people more selfish and less caring about one another, about life that shares this planet with us and about the environment. The development of material prosperity necessitated people moving from small towns and villages, where ‘everyone knew everyone else’, into large cities where anonymity is the rule rather than the exception. From working in small groups or at home, people now worked in factories and large offices. The trauma caused by these aspects of the industrial revolution has had two major impacts. First it has separated human beings from everyday contact with the natural world and its rhythms and secondly it has separated us from our innate understanding of the essential unity of creation. I believe it has also made many people more dependent on the state and/ or the company and less willing to think for themselves.

Human beings have always felt there is more to life than just the short span spent on this earth. We have always created religions of one sort or another. No race of people in any part of the world has ever been found, who did not as a general religious principle, accept that life continues beyond physical death. Who are we to scoff at the earliest attempts to interpret life in terms of Gods of various forms and accuse such people of ignorance and superstition? Most people, especially in the Western world have accepted the claims of the scientists, physicists in particular, without question. They have been persuaded to view everything in physical terms. If you can’t see, touch, taste, hear or smell something, it doesn’t exist. To be fair one has to add, or measure it with scientific instruments. The problem with this is how can we claim our five physical senses or scientific instruments are adequate in all circumstances? We know our senses are imperfect. There is an enormous range of sound our ears are not designed to hear and the visible spectrum is only a small fraction of the entire spectrum of light and colour. Our senses of touch, smell and taste are just as deficient and scientific instruments must be of limited application because they are designed and built by these same imperfect, deficient human beings. What ingenuousness to accept without question the materialistic claims of scientists and yet in the same breath describe as superstition, the belief there is more to life than material existence!

Lionel

This is an extract from my book "Please God Why?" which can be obtained by visiting www.spiritteach.net