SPIRITUALISM
[What is it?]
Spiritualism is a way of life which combines philosophy, science and religion. It prepares us and makes us practice what we preach, not just talk about it. It covers a very wide field, and therefore one cannot expect to understand it without a certain amount of study [this is a very brief overview].
Spiritualists mainly agree on seven principles:
[1] The fatherhood of God
[2] The brotherhood of man
[3] The communion of spirits and the ministry of angels
[4] The continuous existence of the human soul
[5] Personal responsibility
[6] Compensation and retribution hereafter for all good and evil deeds done on earth
[7] Eternal progress open to every human soul
Spiritualism teaches personal responsibility. It removes all fear of death and teaches that death is not the cessation of life but a portal to a wider world and a mere change of condition. It teaches not that man has a soul, but that man IS a soul and has a body.
Spiritualism teaches that those who have passed on are alive and conscious [not asleep]. We are already spirits here and now - we don't have to wait until death to become a spirit.
'Heaven' and 'Hell' are really states of mind, not geographical locations. Even here we can live in heaven or hell, the choice is ours. The world we inhabit after death is not far away up in the sky - it is all around us, interpenetrating the world in which we now live. Those we have 'loved and lost' are not in some far off inaccessible place seated on clouds or playing harps. Very often they are close by our side, striving to help and guide us, and loving us just as they did before passing.
The evidence reveals that love, like life, is stronger than death. It is love that proves to be the compelling force, striving to break down barriers [which man in his ignorance has created] between this world and what is called the next in order to achieve communication. Often there is grief on both sides of the veil. There are the tears shed over loved ones who have died, and the grief our departed feel as they try to reach us, but fail to make themselves known.
There are many 'spheres' ['planes' or 'levels'] of existence that are invisible to us because they function in a manner different from ours. Millions of sound vibrations are lost to us because they are outside the range of our hearing, just as millions of sight vibrations fail to be registered because they are beyond the scope of our eyes.
There is nothing supernatural about this happening. Everything in the universe is in accordance with natural laws which were devised by God and God is perfect. If it was God's will that we know nothing of them, then we would be ignorant of them. God is not only perfect but all powerful. God is spirit. God is the creative universal spirit. Wherever there is life there is spirit, and wherever there is spirit there is life. We exist because a spark of God's divinity is within each and every one of us - his light shines in all of us. This is a divine relationship with God as our "father" and we are all the "Creator's children".
We are personally responsible for our sins and we have to save ourselves. It is far more moral to acknowledge our sins and try to make amends than to try and place them upon the shoulders of another.
In spiritualism we believe that Jesus developed his psychic faculties and was a supreme master of spiritual law. He practiced many miraculous acts of healing upon other individuals through the laying on of hands using God's healing energy. Further more, he was in close touch with the spirit world and demonstrated his survival after his death by coming back and showing himself in spirit form. His teaching of brotherhood, love, humility and service is the basis of spiritualism as we know it today.
What makes spiritualism unique is the evidence of survival after death that is obtainable through mediumship. While most religions preach the 'after life' as a hope, a faith or a belief - we maintain that reasonable people can prove it for themselves.
While some may close their minds to these possibilities [except as a passing thought or a television fantasy] others repeatedly make contact with our dear departed in an ongoing relationship of love and light.
Spiritualism is God's message to mortals, declaring that 'There Is No Death'. That all who have passed on still live; that there is hope in the life beyond even for the most sinful.
Spiritualism is a manifestation, a demonstration and a proof of the continuity of life and of the truth of the many spirit manifestations recorded in the Christian Bible.
NOTE
This is a brief overview about the teachings of the Spiritualist Churches and the philosophy of their way of life. I atttended several Spiritualist Churches over many years but the I remember the most is Universal Love. At the Church of Universal Love I found a warm and loving group of people who were devoted to improving themselves and practicing God's laws of betterment.
Yes, we did have traditional Christian bibles in the church and yes we did sing traditional Christian hymn songs but this church was interactive with all members of the congregation taking part in the service as well as being given messages from dear departed ones by gifted psychic mediums.
Each Sunday we had a preselected willing member of the congregation, or a guest speaker, tell the rest of us how they had improved themselves and/or they would reveal some insights they had received through the practice of God's love. The church was based on improving each soul through interaction with the spirit world and love of oneself. I have never seen a happier bunch of people as those I saw and sat with in these churches and the hypocrisy was much less than in other more traditional churches I have attended. The people were real and practicing religion rather than putting on airs and preaching religion.
A typical two hour Sunday service consisted of hymns followed by some words from the minister, a guest speaker would be introduced who would tell us how 'he' was improving himself and/or revealing some insights 'he' had received in 'his' course of self improvement. More hymns were sung and a few inspirations and/or affirmations were read to the congregation. Next, several gifted healers would rise and wash their hands then stand by individual healing stools ~ those members of the congregation that wanted a healing would then go up and sit on the stools of the different healers. Once a healing was completed the healers would wash their hands again and a new person would sit on their stool and await their administrations. Once all the healings were completed a small prayer of thanks would be said and then all would sing another hymn song. At this time the various mediums would begin to address different members of the attending congregation with messages from their dear departed. No one ever knew who would get a message ~ this was dependant strictly on what the mediums were given by spirits and they would be told who to address in the crowd even if they didn't know who the person was. Following this they would once again sing a hymn then pass around the collection plate and give blessings for donations [collections were used for paying rent, paying hydro, social gatherings, church supplies, books, etc.]. Announcements would be made as to the church's activities, etc. followed by thanks for all the healers and mediums and then the congregation would end. Following immediately after this we were all invited into the church basement for refreshments and a social time before heading for home. Genuine hugs were given and received by those who felt inclined to do so.
During services and classes we were taught what a loving God we had and not to fear God but to embrace HIM and HIS unconditional love. We were taught that it was our right to improve ourselves ~ to make ourselves the best that we can be in this our time on earth. We were taught that there is no death after life and I knew this long before I ever attended the church for I had witnessed the return of many a loved one over the years.
I have actually expressed to mainstream religions as well as spiritualist churches that I think of death, not as an end nor a beginning, but simply as a change in our way of life. I compare our lives to that of a caterpillar. We are here on earth experiencing life in a very down to earth and sluggish manner, finding our way slowly through all the debris out there. As we near the end of this existance we cocoon ourselves to go within and see what we have absorbed. Having completed the cocoon stage we emerge as a butterfly and take flight with all the freedom and lightness of being. This is what I believe to be our stage of evolution as a soul. We are humans very firmly fixed on this earth and we go through a lot of debris to better ourselves. Finally we withdraw and go within as we absorb and ponder all we have learned. With the passing from our earthly bodies we are given the freedom and lightness of a spirit with the ability to roam where we will.
I have realized many things over the years and one thing I was taught or knew at a very, very young age was that we did not have to go to church to be with God. I always thought of the church as being man's way of doing things, not God's. What did God need of a building or money? HE was not materialistic but man was. I felt that the temples that were spoken of in the bible were our bodies and that our bodies were where we needed to worship from. Reading the bible I often found the words more applicable to our own bodies than to buildings ~ keeping one's temple clean and undefiled was of utmost importance and this makes much more sense when we think of a body rather than a building.
God is everywhere why restrict him to a building? Is HE not in the nature that surrounds us? Is HE not in the air we breathe and the sun that shines? Is HE not in the faces of the innocent children we are blessed with? Is HE not in the unconditional love we receive from our children and pets? All life has spirit [energy] ~ from our plants, to our animals, to ourselves. Life IS energy therefore all living things have some sort of relationship with God for HE is the one who created all life.
One message I was given by spirit many, many years ago still holds true today ~ "there is only one religion ~ and that is the one that exists between you and God ~ everything else is man made".
Namaste
Copyright © 1994, Victoria Nelson
HINDUISM - The Brahman Gods
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