London Spiritist Group

I was invited to attend a Brazilian Spiritist group and I arrived at the venue at 7pm when coffee and refreshments were being served. It was explained to me that this 'course in spirituality' is very popular in Brazil and has been brought to the UK along with books that are used as their source material. These are five books, codified by Allan Kardec. At 7.30pm, we entered a very pleasant room and gathered to enjoy some calm background music. Each member in turn read from a book of spiritual wisdom and was able to make comments and ask questions on the text. These books, written in question and answer format, provide spiritual knowledge. After this, there was a lecture by a Brazilian speaker on a matter relating to spiritual life. The lecture was delivered in Portuguese and there was a translator standing by. This section of the meeting offers a different subject each week though all are based ethical living and how to live a moral life by contributing to our communities by paying attention to relationships, communal considerations, green issues, etc. Then we were invited to receive spiritual healing by way of a prayer and small glass of water.

What is Spiritism?

In Poughkeepsie, New York State, in 1847 an uneducated faith healer and medical seer, Andrew Jackson Davis, wrote an autobiography entitled ‘The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations’. In this book, he described his very remarkable channelling mediumship abilities which he had discovered whilst experimenting with the techniques of Franz Mesmer whose early work, entitled ‘animal magnetism’ was being modified, resulting in the discovery of ‘intentional somnambulism’ an early word used for ‘trance’. He was in touch with intellectuals in the spirit world, such as Swedenborg and Galen and he went on to write fifty books on education, health, politics, psychology and philosophy. Within a short time, in Hydesville, a local town in New York State, two young sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox reported strange knockings and rappings. These developed into a code that revealed - it is said - that a peddler had been murdered and buried in the cellar of their home! An excavation revealed some bones and the previous owner of the property, Mr Bell, was accused of murder on account of this. 

Medicine & Spirituality Congress Review

I had the pleasure to attend the 2nd British Congress on Medicine and Spirituality and would like my readers to know about the conference.

Tim Wheater is a New Age musician and he delighted us with an enchanting opening to the conference.  The speakers came from many disciplines; psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, researchers, medical doctors and scientists. There were six from Brazil and three from the UK. The auditorium was filled with people from many nations, including Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. Many Spiritists attended because the Brazilian speakers are all practicing Spiritists, a faith aligned to Spiritualism. Spiritism is highly popular in Brazil where there are many automatic writing mediums and inspirational speakers. They have entire hospitals that are based on Spiritism, a religion that accepts life after death and that spirits want to contact us. It is based on channelled answers to questions which were posed and codified by Allan Kardec, a French educator of the mid eighteen hundreds. These teachings explain where we come from, what the purpose is of our existence, and where we go after physical death. Also explained are other factors, such as spirit possession and how to protect the self against psychic attack.

Spiritism and Conference Review

Spiritism	Spiritualism
Movement began in France and spread to Brazil	Movement began in US and UK
Mediums communicate with named spirits in the spirit world for moral guidance and spiritual instruction often received by ‘automatic writing’	Mediums communicates with family and friends in spirit world for ‘proof of survival’ often delivered by platform mediums to a church congregation
Uses non-contact healing	Uses contact healing
Believes in reincarnation	Does not believe in reincarnation
Mediumship training, healing and spirit release is offered to suitable applicants without cost	Frequently raises money for charities through psychic suppers and other fundraising activities

Beginnings of spirit contact: Contact with spirits, angels and demons are mentioned many times in the Old and New Testament. Most religious movements have started with a medium receiving a message from a deity, angel or spirit of some kind.

Spiritism and Spiritualism

In Poughkeepsie, New York State, in 1847 an uneducated faith healer and medical seer, Andrew Jackson Davis, wrote an autobiography entitled ‘The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations’. In this book, he described his very remarkable channelling mediumship abilities which he had discovered whilst experimenting with the techniques of Franz Mesmer whose early work, entitled ‘animal magnetism’ was being modified, resulting in the discovery of ‘intentional somnambulism’ an early word used for ‘trance’. He was in touch with intellectuals in the spirit world, such as Swedenborg and Galen and he went on to write fifty books on education, health, politics, psychology and philosophy. Within a short time, in Hydesville, a local town in New York State, two young sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox reported strange knockings and rappings. These developed into a code that revealed that a peddler had been murdered and buried in the cellar of their home. An excavation revealed some bones and the previous owner of the property, Mr Bell, was accused of murder.