A Short History of Psychic Time

The S.P.R. was to be patronised by many eminent men, such as Gladstone, Tennyson, Ruskin, and the artist, Watts. The noted author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was a fearless champion of Spiritualism. Indeed, it was he that opened the Brisbane Spiritualist Church.

Interest in Spiritualism had reached a peak at the turn of the century, when international events took people’s minds away from the next world and concentrated them in this. The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, with the resulting collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the outbreak of World War I led to Spiritualism being relegated to the “back benches” although there were many who tried to contact loved ones who fell in the carnage in Europe. At the end of the war, especially during the 20’s and 30’s there was, again, an upsurge in interest. The famous escapologist Harry Houdini constantly tried to find a medium who was not a fraud, but when he was confronted with things he couldn’t explain, when he was given proof of survival by genuine mediums, he chose to ignore what he couldn’t understand! Spiritualism at this time was quickly overshadowed by the rise of Nazism and the outbreak of W.W. II.

The end of the last millennium, once again, saw an increase in Spiritualism, as people looked for answers to the enduring questions, such as, “What happens when we die?” “Do heaven and hell exist?” and “Will I see my loved ones again?” Answers that Spiritualism can provide.

In the 1920’s, Spiritualist meetings (called seances then) were noted for the physical phenomena that the Mediums at that time could produce: Ectoplasmic figures, table tippings and rappings, messages through paper trumpets, and in more than one case, the actual levitation of the Medium; and we must bear in mind that, although there were many fakes exposed at this time, there were many events recorded by reliable witnesses that showed the true influence of Spirit.

Spiritualist meetings today are no longer held in darkened rooms, with everyone holding hands and asking, “Is anybody there?” We know that they are, indeed, there. As modern Spiritualism now increasingly relies on Mental Phenomena, such as Clairaudience, Clairvoyance and Psychometry, there are still meetings that produce physical phenomena.

 All we need is a person who is able to “tune in” to Spirit, much as you would tune in a radio station; for that is what a Medium is – a person who can hear, see, or sense on a higher frequency than others; and bear in mind that clairvoyance and clairaudience can occur to all of us while we sleep! We have heard many times about a “dead” relative that has appeared in “dreams”.

While many people come to Spiritualist meetings in the hope of receiving a message from Spirit, the importance of the message is not so much its content, but in the fact that such messages can demonstrate the continued existence of the spirit or soul after what we call death.

For that is the true message of Spiritualism: that our earthly life is merely a time of training or learning, and that we are not just physical bodies with a soul, but we are all Eternal Spirits clothed, for a time, in flesh; and we, through God’s greatest gift – Free Will – have chosen to return to this Earth Plane so that we can complete the cycles of our being; and ultimately, through God’s grace, we shall all return to the infinite Love and infinite Light that is the Great, and Holy, Spirit.