Curious Questions, Insightful Answers – 5

To answer that, one must consider what qualification is referring to. Extreme examples might be the recently qualified and certified teacher straight out of college, compared with the person that’s been involved with working with the spirit world for a number of decades. One is qualified on paper, while the other is qualified through a lifetime of experience. Teachers have other skills other than set qualifications. Someone with letters after their name may not be the best communicators with ordinary students for example. 

Any teacher will tell you that being qualified really is only a very small part of teaching. The skills that are required are far and beyond just having a certificate. There are many factors a student must consider when selecting a suitable teacher. At the very least, they need to be able to relate to them. 

Many people choose a teacher based on the reputation the teacher has acquired. But again, this alone should not be the determining factor. As an example, there would be no point in having a teacher that that is a masters in quantum computing if all you need to know is how to word process! Find a teacher that can help you get to the next level of your growth first. Once there, you might choose to find another teacher more suitable to take you further.

Don’t be easily impressed with academic qualifications, certificates, diplomas and the like. They have their place, but not necessarily in your personal development. 

That was how I started my mediumship journey. I had no interest in becoming a medium at first. But the more I learned about the subject, the more I wanted to become more involved. Let me share an example. Imagine you wanted to study mechanics of a motor vehicle. You could study everything from the workings of the engine, the fuel performances, the assembly, the repairs and every other aspect of a motor vehicle. But if you couldn’t drive one, you’d be missing out on a lot more aspects of the motor vehicle.

If you want to know all there is to the art of mediumship, you really do need to learn to become one. It’s like every other craft and ability, it will take time and effort. This world we live in is crying out for good mediums, but not for those that know everything about mediumship, yet aren’t one! By all means, mediumship is an interesting way of life and worthy of study. But to learn enough to understand the subject, one must be actively practising it.

CERT was a standard often used in mediumship demonstrations. The acronym stands for Characteristics, Evidence, Relaying the message, Tying it up. It was used as a guide for the medium to follow. There were other derivatives such as Connection, Evidence, Relay, Termination, and similar interpretations. This method of organisation of the connection with the spirit world is not taught so much nowadays, though it remains a good discipline to adhere to as closely as possible. 

Being aware of this acronym is useful, particularly when observing another medium demonstrating their abilities. Too many mediums nowadays are undisciplined and fail to achieve one, or even all of these checkpoints in their mediumship connection. 

Establish a connection, before moving forward. Cement the connection with evidence. Relay the message and finish. It’s a simple concept, yet lacking in many medium’s demonstrations. Some ‘old-school’ tutors still teach CERT to their students and in doing so, set the student on a solid foundation for their future in mediumship.

A spiritualist usually defines a person who is a member of the Spiritualist Movement, known as Spiritualism. The largest such organisation in the UK, and registered as a religion is the Spiritualist National Union (SNU). Apart from the organisation maintaining their own established rules, creed and dogma, the union also offers a world class education system, second to none other. Many of the more well-known mediums will have been trained under their umbrella and may have earned accreditation in the process.

Being a member of such a movement is not essential to be a medium. There are many fine mediums that are not part, or have ever been associated with such movements, instead choosing to learn their mediumship from tutors in private circles. 

There is a constant debate amongst mediums as to whether someone can call themselves a spiritualist if they are not a member of an organisation, such as the SNU. As the author of this answer, I declare that I’m not a member of any organisation, though I once was a member of the SNU. However, I consider myself a spiritualist. 

This is a misinterpreted rule often taught to young mediums. Though it has truth in it, there are acceptable occasions where a medium might choose to filter a message they receive from the spirit world. All mediums should act with responsibility, respect and consideration for their recipients, whether in a one-to-one situation or in a public gathering. 

The medium should always remain aware of what they are relaying from spirit to someone in their presence. The medium should act responsibly and be aware that their words are without negative connotations. Just because a spirit person might choose to swear a lot to the medium in the communication, doesn’t mean the medium should relay the message word for word. There are other considerations also. If the medium becomes aware through the spirit connection of a medical issue with the recipient, the medium should never relay that in a direct manner. There are many ways to soften, suggest, or seek alternative ways to pass the information on, if deemed essential.

When a medium suggests they never filter their messages from the spirit world, they are walking a fine line between good and bad mediumship, particularly concerning personal responsibility. It is often those bad mediums that get the name of mediumship ridiculed and mocked. 

Becoming a pioneer is a title often bestowed on people after their death, especially in the mediumship movement. There are many ways how someone may be termed a pioneer after their death. Often this is because of work they did when alive that advanced the movement is some great way. We consider people, such as the Emanuel Swedenborg, the Fox sisters, and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as pioneers because of the work they achieved regarding the spirit world during their lifetime.

Who knows which of today’s modern mediums will be considered pioneers in years following their death. In our modern society, the work of mediums has become somewhat diluted. There is a lack of true leaders in these times and too many people are attempting to be ‘woke’. Recent mediums, such as Gordon Higginson, Glyn Edwards, and many other mediums, male and female, from their era deserve to classed as pioneers because of their work within mediumship. But I struggle to think of anyone alive I would consider tomorrow’s pioneers of mediumship.

I wonder how many of us have said that joke to a psychic or medium? The question shows a lack of understanding of how a psychic works, their sources of information, and the conditions to which the spirit world adhere to when communicating with us. Though there are people that claim to be seers or mystics with a source revealing the future events, they are very rare indeed. 

I have no doubt that the timeline we exist within here on earth is a constant we believe to be a law of life, it is not. I believe time shifting is possible, though not in our dimension of life as we understand it. There are forces at work we can never fully comprehend with our framework of science and physics. I also believe that our friends in spirit might well be privy to our near future events. But it would not be part of our greater good to know the six numbers for the next lottery draw!

If you want me to give you the next six lottery numbers, here you go: 4, 13, 32, 41, 50, 55. Thank me later with a donation from your winnings!

There is very little evidence to suggest that insects reside in the afterlife. Symbolically, insects are often considered as messengers and with spiritual meanings, but evidence of them having an existence in the spirit world is unrecorded. 

From a philosophical standpoint, the question of insects in a spirit world raises a couple of interesting points to consider. 

• If consciousness or a soul is believed to continue after death, one might question whether insects possess the level of consciousness necessary for an afterlife existence.
• The concept of a spirit world often focuses on human souls or higher-order beings, rather than all living creatures.

There is evidence to suggest that higher order forms of life, such as animals and birds, do exist in the next dimension. I have experienced personal physical evidence of that when, during a reading with a client, her passed cat visited my sanctuary and made herself clearly heard. So I have no doubts that some animals do have an afterlife. I do hope there are no spiders there though!

Different belief systems across the world have different perspectives on animals and insects having an afterlife. As a spiritualist however, I seek the evidence first before believing such claims. How far would we have to look to find the qualifying boundary? Does bacteria therefore survive this life? Why and how would that be so?

In the research for my answer, I did put the question to an AI program and from the answer, I realised that this subject is quite fascinating, though lacking factual evidence.

There are several factors to consider when answering this question. Who or what God is, is the starting point. Every religion has it’s own interpretation and understanding of the concept of God. In the country I reside, the UK, the word God is associated with religious people and occasionally sneered upon as weird, freaky, hippy, not-normal people. To profess a belief in God is not a day-to-day topic of conversation for most. Most people haven’t taken the time to consider what God means to them personally. 

When I first became a medium, my friends and family believed I’d suddenly ‘found’ God, claiming I had become a weirdo. At that time, I didn’t know what or who God was and was therefore in no position to defend myself. Therefore, as a young medium, I like others, avoided suggesting I believed in God. After years of education of my chosen pursuit, I began to understand what and who God was. Nowadays, I’m open and not shy about stating I believe in God. Many mediums are the same. Once they’ve taken on the learning and understand their subject of mediumship a lot better, they become less shy about talking about God.

For purpose of this answer, I believe in God as the Divine force of all good and great in this world and beyond. I don’t believe God is a person, instead God is a force for all good and love. The word God is believed to be a derivative of the word ‘Good’, shortened over time.