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My Story
OK so this is what this site is really all about. Its about me and my spiritual beliefs and values.
Not many people realise that spiritualism is actually a religion. It still seems to have a great stigma attached to it with
what we would class as the "main" religions all to eager to debunk it. Unlike them, I feel others are entitled to
an opinion and if they can't, won't or don't believe in the things I do then so be it. In the words of Catherine
Tate.."Am I bothered?"
The Beginning
The thing I want to cover here is how did I find spiritualism (or did it find me?). The story begins
on Sept 29th 1983 when I was on my holiday in sunny Spain. Salou to be precise. At around 6.30 in the morning I woke to "hear"
a mans voice in my ear. The voice was saying goodbye. Slightly unnerved by this I dug Loraine in the ribs to ask if she could
hear it too. The reply was what I'd kind of expected "No, it must be all that Bacardi you had last night!".
Cutting a very long story short I spent the rest of that holiday wondering what was going on. Even I expected the men in white
coats to be waiting at the airport. Upon my arrival home, I was greeted with news I did not want to hear, but news that explained
what had happened. A friend of mine, Martin, just two days younger than myself had collapsed and died on his way to work on
Sept 29th. Taking the time zones into account it would have been 6.30 ish to me in Spain.
Looking
For The Answer
Trying very hard to put my mind around what had happened
I started visiting psychic evenings at pubs around the Birmingham area. Well its an awful job but someone had to do it. (I
say had because I am now teetotal and have been since 1985.) This certainly built up an interest in what you may call the
paranormal, but I still felt I was going nowhere with it. That isn't saying I wanted to go anywhere with it but I felt
a little like that Richard Dreyfus character in "Close Encounters". Finding an answer had become an obsession. The
answer didn't come along until 1996. It came with more tradgic circumstances. My sister Tracy had her second child, a
little boy named Corry. When only two weeks old he was rushed into Birminghams Childrens Hospital with a heart condition.
It turns out he had been born with a condition called Cardiomyopathy. This was literally killing him. My sister asked me to
go to a church with her to pray, not something I normally did but drastic times call for drastic measures. The church was
a Spiritualist one. I did not know of their existence until that point. A few days later Corry was taken off life support
and is still with us today. The church was going to see a lot more of me.
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I
started to attend church on a regular basis getting involved with development groups and circles. I owe so much to a lady
named Mary Jones who encouraged me greatly in the early days at Oldbury Spiritualist Church. I
gained a place on the SNU (Spiritualists National Union) exponents course. It was a three year course to train mediums in
platforn etiquette and also to give them a background history to modern spiritualism. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about
the pioneers of the modern ism. I have to be totally honest here and say that I did not complete the course because of personal
circumstances. Spiritualism As My Religion
Spiritualism
is a religion that gives an understanding of God and encourages us to act with a high sense of duty towards others. Spiritualism
stimulates spiritual growth and prepares us for eternal existence in the spirit-world.
Spiritualism is a science
because it is based upon proven facts that can be demonstrated and scientifically classified. Spiritualism is the science
of life as it encourages the search for truth in every department of existence, in nature and in human psychology.
Spiritualism is a philosophy that attempts to understand people, their physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual
being. As Spirit is the moving force of the Universe, so Spiritualist philosophy embraces the whole realm of nature. These words are based upon a chapter entitled 'The Nature of Spiritualism.'
from the Spiritualists' Lyceum Manual
The Seven Principles Of Spiritualism
These Seven Principles, which act as guidelines for the development of a personal philosophy of how to live one’s
life, are stated as follows:-
The Fatherhood of God.
The Brotherhood of Man.
The Communion
of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels.
The Continuous Existence of the human soul.
Personal Responsibility.
Compensation
and Retribution hereafter for all the good and evil deeds done on earth.
Eternal Progress open to every human soul.
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