Tag: Purpose

  • What is mediumship?

    What is mediumship?

    The basic definition of a mediumship is, communication between a living and dead person through a person or medium who has developed the ability to attune to the frequency of a place called the spirit world and an individual soul. Spiritualists believe the spirit world is the place a soul goes after their life on earth.

    Belief in psychic ability is nothing new and widely accepted and picking up information from another person or incarnate souls energy fields. Researchers have been exploring mediumship and communication with the dead or discarnate souls and continue work with mediums and large spiritualist organisations.

    Mediumship gained popularity during the nineteenth century with the birth of modern Spiritualism marked as 31st March 1848 with the Fox sisters in Hydesville, New York. Investigations into mediumship over the decades have exposed many fraudulent mediums although there have been many cases that couldn’t bet be disproved. The area of mediumship is still very much plagued with these accounts today.

    Within the religion of Spiritualism mediumship is delivered as part of each Divine service, which is traditionally a Sunday church service in spiritualist churches around the United Kingdom. On weekdays demonstrations of mediumship and special services take place where other variations on mediumship and communications are delivered like Spirit Art and Flower Readings. Open circles and open platforms are also held with the opportunity for attendees to practice and develop their mediumship and other disciplines like Psychic readings and Psychometry.

    What is the purpose of Mediumship?

    Within the eyes of Spiritualism; the purpose of mediumship is to prove life after death. It is the proof that we are more than just the body, five senses and our consciousness in this lifetime. The statement can be misleading for many people as they think it is communication with loved ones in the spirit world. Which on a fundamental level it is, although it is so much more.

    So, what is really happening when a medium is delivering Mediumship?

    To understand what is happening when delivering mediumship first you have to understand the training and development it takes before starting to develop a mediumistic awareness. These views are based on my observations as a medium and my own personal development.

    Firstly, before any mediumistic development can take place the practitioner must first undergo a realisation within their own personal development, becoming more deeply aware of themselves, what is happening within themselves and the energy fields surrounding them. From this point the practitioner learns to attune with different frequency ranges that surround us but are out of the range of our five senses. Over time they learn to differentiate between what’s them and what isn’t them, this evolves into the ability to move the restrictive aspects of their consciousness out of the way to allow speaking and communication within the flow of energy and in the moment. In essence this is what all inspired speaking and mediumship actually is, be it different energy streams. Of course, this is a very simplified explanation and any form of attunement to different frequencies and psychic ability takes years of practice and dedication.

    During a demonstration the medium is working to raise the vibration of the room and congregation to allow access to other frequencies. The medium’s role is to hold space and allow a certain frequency to come into their awareness. From the perspective of Spiritualism this would be the energy (soul) from a lifetime on this world relating to a member of the congregation.

    The medium brings forward information about the individual drawing both on a mediumistic level as well as a physic level from the recipient (person in the congregation). This is the confirmation that life is more than just this world, our energy lives on after this lifetime. This knowledge is considered proof of life after death. As how could a person know information about a person (deceased loved one) they have never met and describe situations they were never privy to relating to someone present in the congregation.

    Speaking in the flow of energy. Speaking spontaneously in the moment with minimal subconscious or unconscious bias. The only purpose of the conscious mind in this case is to deliver words in terminology that people understand, within Spiritualism it’s the terms of mediumship and the energy of loved ones in the spirit world.

    It’s all about healing

    The medium’s role to facilitate across multiple areas of our being. There is an opportunity within a Divine Service to build the group energy to bring forward information verbally while controlling the flow of energy for healing and self-awareness of people in the congregation.

    Mental healing – security comes with the knowledge that our loved ones are looking down on us from the next life. Comfort comes from us the knowledge that we live on past this existence. Energy can never be destroyed it just changes form.

    Emotional healing – the feeling of our loved one’s energy, forgiveness and allowing the emotional grieving process to be understood and acknowledged. Stepping more into the present moment allowing peoples energy fields to recognise and release emotional trauma.

    Physical healing – feeling the energy around us, bringing the unseen into the physical world. Releasing blockages within our energy fields can help to release physical aches and pains. This also brings to the physical self a greater understanding of the energy that we are.

    Spiritual healing – accessing the greater aspects of self and feeling the connected. The nature of us to the universe and universal consciousness. Also, our connection to mother earth and natures laws.

    Finding alignment

    Far more is happening that relates not just to mediumship but to any spiritual practice or inspired or enlightened state of awareness in any field or industry. For sports people it’s called the flow state, for artists and writers it’s called inspiration, for actors its embodiment of the character. The practitioner may also become aware of the frequency of omnipresence and alignment with their greater self, they feel the energy within their body and have the ability to step into the energy and healing of now. It is from this point where everyone has access to the greater presence of themselves and their connection to everything and everyone in and beyond our physical and conscious reality.

    Mediums and spiritual teachers have developed their knowledge and awareness to a point where they have worked to develop their abilities to hold space and become aware of the energetics around them. There work is to hold space for people/students in order for them to become aware of their greater self, remove conditioning to open to our natural abilities.

    Written by Richard Stuttle

  • What is the Purpose of Prayer?

    What is the Purpose of Prayer?

    Prayer is a major part of most religions and can be seen in many ancient civilisations including Mayan, Egyptian and Greek, dating back far beyond 4000 BC. Praying has been considered a powerful force and a way to offer thanks to God and Mother Nature depending on the religion and belief system.

    Prayer is a way to communicate with God and connect your soul with the divine. It enhances belief for many. Prayer is a conversation, a way for connecting with the divine and listening for a response. It is quite possible to have a conversation with God and must always be considered a huge privilege. To have the ability to talk to the creator and undergo the realisation that a spark of the creator’s energy is in oneself.

    Prayer offers a moment of inner reflection. It offers time for the individual to understand more about their feelings and a moment to feel thankful for life itself and the blessings bestowed upon us. It’s a way to be completely honest with oneself and offer forgiveness to ourselves and others. Compassion can come through understanding and reflection.

    To understand the power of prayer, it must be understood that it is relevant to the belief, honestly and intent in which it is done. Just like with every other action in life. Prayer must be done with love and appreciation. It must be from the heart. Empty words will do little to change anything but done with love and passion, prayer can be extremely powerful.

    One example of this utter dedication and love for God has been represented in sculpture by one of the greatest artists and sculptors in history. In 1647, Gian Lorenzo Bernini was commissioned and began work on the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. This became a defining work. The story of St Teresa is well known, ‘Teresa of Ávila was a nun who lived in 16th century Spain, at the height of the Reformation. She wrote about her visions in several books, including this description of the scene Bernini depicted: Beside me, on the left, appeared an angel in bodily form…. He was not tall but short, and very beautiful; and his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest rank of angels, who seem to be all on fire…. In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one’s soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it – even a considerable share.’

    The utter dedication St Teresa had for the love for God was all consuming. That power has huge potential to make a difference in our world, not just with belief but also a physical different if harnessed correctly. Prayer, if done with the whole heart, can heal the sick, fix the broken and change our world.

    If the power and connection is understood then the realisation and act of praying can help to build bridges, improve lives and help our soul continue on its journey of evolution. Regular prayer is beneficial for our mental state in a similar way long term meditation can benefit our lives. A moment in prayer can harmonise our energy and body, it can allow us to connect with the God within ourselves and boost our confidence. It can also offer an alternate view of ourselves, others and our world. It’s a way to be thankful for life, everything we have and hold dear.

    Prayer can connect people in this world, it’s a shared belief, when people pray together, they are also connecting with each other. This can create a psychic link with people in our world, recognising and connecting through the divine spark within each of us.

    Praying together as a group or congregation invites the presence of God into the room and helps to increase the faith of everyone present. People who feel touched by God’s presence have more confidence in themselves and strive to live their life’s purpose.

    Some of the philosophy of Silver Birch came through the mediumship of Maurice Barbanell, in the book ‘The Teachings of Silver Birth’. When asked about enlisting help from those in the spirit world his reply was, ‘If you pray with sincerity, you make yourselves, because of the act of prayer, accessible to higher forces. The mere act of prayer opens up the soul. You must pray with your hearts, souls and minds. Mere requests are not prayers. Prayer, truly understood, is a great spiritual exercise. I can best explain it all by saying that prayer should always be regarded as a means to an end, not the end itself.’


    This answer confirms that prayer done with mind, body and soul can have great power and make a big difference in the lives of the individual, as well as lives of the people that prayers are aimed at. Prayer in itself is only part of the journey and should be done regularly, with conviction, in order to make the difference in people’s lives and the evolution of one’s soul.

    Written by Richard Stuttle