An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium

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This was followed by a remarkable form of phenomena. The medium, still in trance, rose from his chair and walked across the room, with all the ropes remaining secured to his body. He shook hands warmly with Mr Turner and whispered a warning to him of things likely to happen in the séance which could spoil everything. Several of the sitters were sensitives and were judged to be giving way to their spirit controls and were thus sapping the power in the room which might easily bring chaos in the séance. Mr Webber returned to his chair and within less than a minute the guide requested that the lights be put on and the knots examined.

In Shintoism, the public shrine is a building or place that functions as a conduit for kami ( 神, "spiritual essence", commonly translated as god or spirit). In Yoruba religion, it is said that Elegba, the son of Osun, became the great conduit of ase (divine energy) in the Universe. A conduit, in esoterism, and spiritual discourse, is a specific object, person, location, or process (such as engaging in a séance or entering a trance, or using psychedelic medicines) which allows a person to connect or communicate with a spiritual realm, metaphysical energy, or spiritual entity, or vice versa. The use of such a conduit may be entirely metaphoric or symbolic, or it may be earnestly believed to be functional. Rodger Anderson. (2006). Psychics, Sensitives And Somnambules. McFarland & Company. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7864-2770-3 Colin Fry was exposed in 1992 when during a séance the lights were unexpectedly turned on and he was seen holding a spirit trumpet in the air, which the audience had been led to believe was being levitated by spiritual energy. [182] In 1997, Massimo Polidoro and Luigi Garlaschelli produced wax-moulds directly from one's hand which were exactly the same copies as Gustav Geley obtained from Franek Kluski, which are kept at the Institute Metapsychique International. [183]Why do a quarter of people across the world believe humans have psychic abilities?". 2019-02-27. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12 . Retrieved 2020-09-23. a b Dunning, Brian (2009-11-10). "Skeptoid #179: The Scole Experiment". Skeptoid . Retrieved 2011-10-30. Channeling can be seen as the modern form of the old mediumship, where the "channel" (or channeller) purportedly receives messages from "teaching-spirit", an " Ascended master", from God, or from an angelic entity, but essentially through the filter of his own waking consciousness (or " Higher Self"). [11] History [ edit ] Joseph McCabe. (1920). Is Spiritualism based on Fraud?: The Evidence Given by Sir A.C. Doyle and Others Drastically Examined. London: Watts & Co. p. 115 In Britain, the Society for Psychical Research has investigated mediumship phenomena. Critical SPR investigations into purported mediums and the exposure of fake mediums has led to a number of resignations by Spiritualist members. [59] [60] On the subject of fraud in mediumship Paul Kurtz wrote:

Direct voice communication is the claim that spirits speak independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the physical and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as "trumpet mediums". This form of mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. Leslie Flint was one of the best known exponents of this form of mediumship. [29] Channeling [ edit ] PM is a unique form of mediumship, entirely different from the much better known type of mediumship that offers messages from spirit communicators relayed through a medium who is fully conscious (albeit perhaps in a somewhat altered state) and is essentially acting as a telephone line for those who have moved on from this life to communicate with loved ones still on earth. Tony Cornell. (2002). Investigating the Paranormal. Helix Press New York. pp. 347–52. ISBN 978-0-912328-98-0Several different variants of mediumship have been described; arguably the best-known forms involve a spirit purportedly taking control of a medium's voice and using it to relay a message, or where the medium simply "hears" the message and passes it on. Other forms involve materializations of the spirit or the presence of a voice, and telekinetic activity. During seances, mediums are said to go into trances, varying from light to deep, that permit spirits to control their minds. [10] Janet Oppenheim. (1985). The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914. Cambridge University Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-521-26505-8

Mr Edward's hand was taken hold of by a hand and placed on the medium's hand. A similar action was taken with the sitter on the other side of the medium. Where did these hands come from? Even though red light was on for the duration of the séance at times white light was also put on to show more clearly such things as the roping of the medium to the chair. …. Deborah Blum. (2006). Ghost Hunters, William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death. The Penguin Press. Senses used by mental mediums are sometimes defined differently from in other paranormal fields. A medium is said to have psychic abilities but not all psychics function as mediums. The term clairvoyance, for instance, may include seeing spirit and visions instilled by the spirit world. The Parapsychological Association defines "clairvoyance" as information derived directly from an external physical source. [38] The psychical researchers W. W. Baggally and Everard Feilding exposed the British materialization medium Christopher Chambers as a fraud in 1905. A false moustache was discovered in the séance room which he used to fabricate the spirit materializations. [107] The British medium Charles Eldred was exposed as a fraud in 1906. Eldred would sit in a chair in a curtained off area in the room known as a "séance cabinet". Various spirit figures would emerge from the cabinet and move around the séance room, however, it was discovered that the chair had a secret compartment that contained beards, cloths, masks, and wigs that Eldred would dress up in to fake the spirits. [108] Janet Oppenheim. (1988). The Other World: Spiritualism and Psychical Research in England, 1850–1914. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34767-9

Why Produce Physical Manifestations?

Hereward Carrington. (1907). The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism. Herbert B. Turner & Co. pp. 206–23 Carlos María de Heredia. (1923). Spirit Hands, "ectoplasm," and Rubber Gloves. Popular Mechanics. pp. 14–15

This form creates a physical phenomenon. It can include table tipping, noise-making levitation, smoke billet pictures, and the creation of ectoplasm with the help of a visiting Spirit. The Medium then delivers and physically translates those messages into the physical form with words.Tim Madigan, David Goicoechea, Paul Kurtz. Promethean Love: Paul Kurtz and the Humanistic Perspective on Love. Cambridge Scholars Press. p. 293 Washington Irving Bishop. (1880). Second Sight Explained: A Complete Exposition of Clairvoyance or Second Sight. Edinburgh: John Menzies. Hines, Terence. (2003). Pseudoscience and the Paranormal. Prometheus Books. p. 52. ISBN 1-57392-979-4 a b Polidoro, Massimo (2003). Secrets of the Psychics: Investigating Paranormal Claims. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1-59102-086-8