Exploring Physical Mediumship: Psychic Photos, Spirit Voices, & Materializations

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The medium or chairperson at a seance must give a pre-seance briefing to the sitters with details of what can and can’t be done during the seance, tailored to the individual medium who is working during the seance. Taves, A. (2006). ‘Where (Fragmented) Selves Meet Cultures: Theorising Spirit Possession.’ Culture and Religion, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 123-138. Budden, A. (2003). ‘Pathologizing Possession: An Essay on Mind, Self and Experience in Dissociation.’ Anthropology of Consciousness, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 27-59. Kilson, M. (1971). ‘Ambivalence and Power: Mediums in Ga Traditional Religion.’ Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 4, pp. 171-177. In her study of a Spiritualist home-circle in a Welsh town in the late 1960s, Vieda Skultans (1974) focused on the therapeutic and supportive elements of Spiritualism as its main attraction for adherents. She interpreted Spiritualist practice and belief as a coping strategy for the women of ‘Welshtown’ in light of their traditional feminine roles as ‘housewife, mother and sexual partner’. 22 According to Skultans, and in line with Lewis’s hypothesis, Spiritualism provided these women with a means to escape their normal day-to-day circumstances, at least for the duration of the circle meetings:

Because we are spiritual beings, living in physical bodies, it follows that we have spiritual senses even if few of us are aware of these latent powers. Some exercise them so naturally that they are surprised when they learn that not everybody has them. Others discover them during an enforced solitude, such as a childhood illness or perhaps when, for some reason, they’ve become isolated by their peers. Others have worked over the last couple of years which I understand included a visit from David Thompson, Gordon Garforth and Jean Skinner. Minister Steven Upton has also been working towards the use of physical mediumship within healing for several years and Sharon Harvey is starting to experiment with this aspect of her mediumship at the College.” More recent research has focused on the therapeutic potential of mediumship practices for the bereaved, especially in the Western context. 24 Psychoanalytic Interpretations Laughlin, C.D. (2013). ‘Dreaming and Reality: A Neuroanthropological Account.’ International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Vol. 32, pp. 64-78. Gomm, R. (1975). ‘Bargaining from Weakness: Spirit Possession on the South Kenya Coast.’ Man, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 530-543.Taves, A. (1999). Fits, Trances and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press. In addition to this ectoplasm, there is also photoplasma, which is a more refined form of ectoplasm and etheric manifestation that is only visible in red or blue light. While we are talking about the use of light, and brightness of the ectoplasm, it is also important to consider the phenomena of spirit lights. These lights occur in spirit circles in the right level of lighting and are often white, blue or red. They are a representation of the intensity of the signal coming from the spirit. The stronger the connection and the abilities of the medium, the stronger the phenomena. Emmons, C.F. (2008). ‘On Becoming a Spirit Medium in a “Rational” Society.’ Anthropology of Consciousness, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 71-82. All physical mediums should be assessed under test conditions before being allowed to work at AFC and a register of approved Physical mediums is kept just as for all college tutors.

Wilson, D.G.M. (2013). Redefining Shamanisms: Spiritualist Mediums and Other Traditional Shamans as Apprenticeship Outcomes. London: Continuum. Physical mediumship: A physical medium relies on etheric world intelligences to perform physical psychic feats. Again, the physical medium works cooperatively with Spirit to perform these feats, and everyone can witness these feats. In this form of mediumship, spirit uses the energy of the medium.Examples of physical mediumship include automatism, trance voices and the appearance of ectoplasm. Discover how mediums work in our online mediumship courses. The cognitive approach to spirit possession does not see it as a pathological phenomenon, though in essence it does suggest that spirit possession beliefs and experiences arise from cognitive illusions and category errors. Spirit guides:Every medium has a spiritguide or even a team of spirit guides and helpers. These spirit guides assist them by actingas intermediaries between the medium and the spirit world. Furthermore, they provide helpful information, guidance andinsights to help the medium work in the best way for the highest and best good of all. There are three key factors that all mediums most possess if they are ever going to be able to progress into physical mediumship. Some have the talent and physical capabilities that will allow them to hone these skills into an effective form of spirit communication. Others simply are not able. This is the key separation between mediums that can connect with those higher frequencies and those that do so to allow physical manifestations. These factors are as follows.In years gone by, PM was very much in evidence at AFC, with a dedicated séance room in the basement. Prior to this, luminaries of Spiritualism such as Gordon Higginson were among those who demonstrated their PM at the college. To the best of my knowledge, the only physical medium currently demonstrating levitation phenomena and independent direct voice at AFC is 31-year-old Scott Milligan (pictured below). This explains why there are such variations in the look and quality of the images seen during these sessions. There will be some manifestations that are faint and dull, either due to a poor connection or the ill health of the medium. Ill health and fatigue will play their part on the result. A medium exhausted from one sitting my struggle to replicate the experience soon after. Others will see a much brighter, clearer image with more distinct features. This occurs with that stronger communicative link and the greater abilities and health of the medium. So how does this ectoplasm enter the room and become visible to the sitters in the session?