This is the third of this series in which I answer seven more of those questions that we’ve all wondered about, yet maybe been too embarrassed to ask, or just didn’t know enough to answer.
As with much of the learning we do when working with the spirit world, there are often no right or wrong answers. One medium’s answer may be completely different from another’s. Bear that in mind when I offer you my answers to these questions. They are based on my experience and knowledge and may differ from someone else’s.
THE QUESTIONS
I wonder how many of us look to the stars and romantically believe that our friends in the spirit world are up there? At the same time, we battle with the science of that possibility. The first point we must realise is that where we are living here on earth is our realm, entirely. The planet, the seas, the stars and the air that we breathe. They all exist in our confined realm. Reality as we know it.
There are other confinements involved too. We see only a limited part of the available light spectrum. We hear, touch, and smell only a tiny amount of what is actually available too. We would therefore be foolish to believe that everything that exists in our realm is all there is. Much more is available to experience outside of the limitations of our biology.
As living beings with physical bodies, we exist on what is often termed as ‘the earth plane’, the realm we know and can be experienced and measured with our current science. It is my belief, based on that which I’ve learned, that the spirit world, ‘the astral plane’, is not confined to our boundaries. In our realm, our science dictates that we are limited by the speed of light. Scientists firmly believe that nothing can ever travel beyond that maximum speed. But the spirit world is not governed by those rules. Our quantum scientists are beginning to understand that life can exist outside of the limitations currently imposed.
The ‘astral plane’, the spirit world, does not have limitations of travel according to the speed of light. Even more important, is that the spirit world operates without a timeframe as we understand it.
It is therefore my belief that the spirit world exists everywhere, inside our limited realm and beyond. If, as we know, the spirit body contains no mass, space is not an issue. Thousands, if not millions could therefore be contained in a matchbox perhaps!
The location of the spirit world is very much a topic for philosophical reasoning and opinions will inevitably vary from one person to the next. My opinion is the spirit world is around us and within us. We all have a spirit, right? It is part of us. Where is that therefore living, if not here with us and beyond our limitations?
In this context, the questioner is referring to groups of people that come together regularly to sit for spirit and unfold their potential. The challenge is less of an issue than one might at first believe.
Have you ever bought a car that you thought was rare, only to suddenly see hundreds of them on the roads around you? It happens because your focus has changed and you are now looking for that type of car. The same is true of circles, development groups, and the like. They are out there. It’s up to you to look for them!
That said, the quality of today’s circles has changed, compared with those of years gone by. Closed circles, where the same sitters come together on a regular schedule are harder to find, mainly due to the lifestyles of modern people. People nowadays are less prepared to sit for months and years to develop and allow the power of spirit to build. It is therefore my view that many of the circles available to us to participate in offer little or no value in truly unfolding our potential. All too often they are a means for practicing with others without any real tuition or guidance.
Finding dedicated mediums and students prepared to commit to a regular intense circle for spirit is hard. There are plenty of circles that offer meetings where one can meditate for half of the session followed by everyone offering a reading. The value of such a circle is limited to the passionate student.
When I was interviewing mediums for my podcast series, I was amazed at how many of the mediums placed great importance on stating they were born with an enhanced awareness of the spirit world from an early age.
I felt that many of them were stating this as a means of making themselves somehow special and different. The only advantage I could see was that they had been able to spend longer in their life with the ability and therefore had unfolded their potential for longer. In that respect, yes, being born aware of this understanding of a spirit world is an advantage. But it doesn’t mean that someone who finds their potential for this work later in life is any less worthy or capable.
I tend to take this claim of being born gifted with a pinch of salt. The proof is in their work and the evidence of a continuation of life that they reveal in their work. I have gone out of my way to witness many demonstrations of mediumship from as many mediums as I can. I have often been disappointed by their lack of true evidence of life after death in their demonstrations.
Being born with an enhanced awareness of the spirit world is an advantage, though not as essential as some people might be led to believe. I believe we are all born equal, with the same abilities. It is our life path, our peers, and our circumstances that shape our lives.
Am I upset that I was forty years old before I became aware of this path for life? Absolutely no. Am I concerned that I might never be as good as the gifted medium with my work with spirit? Not in the slightest. We are all unique, thank goodness. It’s not about how many years we’ve been aware of the spirit world. It’s about what we do with our potential when we realise it.
The short answer is yes. We also know that spirit people can create themselves as solid as if with a body. If that is the case, as it is, how can we ever know that many of the people we see around us are not already of the spirit world?
I once had a mentor suggest that we don’t go around poking other people to see if they’re real, so how can we possibly know that just by seeing someone they are a life form of this dimension? Of course, that is a light-hearted way of approaching the question, but really, the spirit world is indeed all around us, and surprisingly, within us too.
There are many ‘tools’ connected with mind, body, and spirit work. The general belief is that tarot and angel cards are only useful for earthly energy work, commonly referred to as psychic work. Though I generally agree with that statement, it is not a hard and fast rule, as I have found out with my work with the tarot.
Through my own experiences, I have learned that using tarot can, more often than not, offer me an insight into something that the spirit world wants to talk about or raise in a reading. I have found that my connection with the spirit world is often strengthened through the use of tarot.
Tarot, as is probably the same with Angel cards and similar, relies very much on the user’s intuition, and that is one of the senses we use in mediumship. However, there is a lot of snobbery around using tarot cards for mediumship. Other mediums often suggest that they don’t need ‘crutches’ such as tarot for their connection with the spirit world. I would suspect that statement to be based on their inability to understand and interpret the cards and how they work.
For me, the use of tarot in my work with the spirit world is a useful and powerful tool to incorporate into a reading. A by-product is that tarot cards on a table in front of a sitter offer something tangible to help settle them into an often weird environment.
I can’t offer advice about other cards, such as angel or healing cards. Although I have many sets in my collection, I rarely use them in my work with the spirit world.
If only! I’m the least saintly person you could know! Like most other mediums and people choosing to work with the spirit world, I live an otherwise normal life. The difference comes in my beliefs and in the way I desire to improve my time on earth.
The Bible comes with a set of ten commandments. Hindus have guidelines. Spiritualists have seven principles. As is common in most faiths, there is a set of principles suggested as a pointer to living a more fulfilled and enriched life. But they are just that – guidelines.
If the powers that be, in the spirit world, were to only choose saintly people to communicate through, the two worlds wouldn’t be as close as they are!
I believe we should do our best to live a good and honest life and where possible embrace the principles for the greater good of mankind and self. But don’t hold me to account when I next lose it because of something that rattles my cage!
The perfect person has yet to walk on earth, and I suspect there are fewer still in this next world!
An active, or healthy imagination is largely determined by the state of one’s thinking. Some people are very much open-minded, whereas others are closed to ideas and principles they do, or don’t want to, believe. And of course, there are many in between.
Using myself as an example, I do believe I’ve always had an overly active imagination that has allowed me to explore aspects of life that many others wouldn’t dare to. But if my journey into the world of spirit was based only on my levels of imagination, why was I forty years old before I discovered this world of spirit work?
I don’t believe having an active imagination is an important facet of this work. Having an open mind and a willingness to learn and self-educate is far more important.
There are many such false traits associated with mediumship. For example, being gay, being melancholy in personality, being easily influenced, being born of a line of ancient Romanies, being the sixth son of a sixth son, and so on. They’re nonsense associations, as is claiming to have an enthusiastic sense of imagination.
NEVER STOP ASKING QUESTIONS
The late Glyn Edwards once said to students all in a workshop that the more he has learned from working with the spirit world, the more questions there were that remained unanswered. It’s the very nature of the beast, so to speak.
I am often reminded of the big fish, small fish analogy when it comes to working with the spirit world. When I’m around family, friends, and new students of this work, I can appear like the big fish in a little pond, knowing so much more about this topic than those around me. But when I’m in an environment of other mediums, great tutors, and experienced students, I become the small fish in a large pond.
I am still the one who asks the ‘stupid’ questions, who wants to learn, and who questions everything. I don’t care how others perceive me. I want to learn, and by asking questions, I do so. I don’t always believe the answers though! Truth is, the answers I receive to questions I ask, offer me an insight into the knowledge of the other person.
If you learn anything from today’s article, be it that learning is a fun experience, more so if you’re passionate about developing your potential.
The answers to the questions above are based on my experience and knowledge. Each answer may differ to that of another person. Even you reading this may think I’m wrong. That is perfectly acceptable and a healthy approach. Seek your own truth and you will find your own answers.
