Spiritual Mediumship
Myths
Myth: Mediums raise the dead - Contrary to this popular belief, Spiritual Mediums cannot raise the dead; nor can they call the dead up at will. A Spiritual Medium simply opens up to receive a Spirit communication and those on the other side come to the Spiritual Medium when they are ready, willing and able to do so.
Myth: Mediums are fortune tellers – Spiritual Mediums do not tell fortunes. The personal choices people make create the future. What Spiritual Mediums can see are the potential ramifications of particular choices and actions and suggest new ways of addressing challenges.
Myth: Mediums have all the answers - This is incorrect. It is the role of a Spiritual Medium (as well as the Spiritual Counsellor, Spiritual Healer and Spiritual Director) to support and empower a person in dealing with challenges, recognizing that it is our choices that help us learn and grow.
Myth: Mediums (or psychics) are more spiritually evolved - Spiritual Mediums and psychics are not necessarily more spiritually evolved than anyone else, and like everyone else, they are on a road of spiritual advancement and growth. However, it is most desirable that Spiritual Mediums be highly spiritual and dedicated people who recognize and accept their sacred responsibility, not only to themselves, but also to the Divine, the Spirit world and the recipients of any Spirit messages. A goal of the OIIM Registration Board is to ensure this in its registrants.
What Is a Medium?
A Registered Medium trained through OIIM has taken our Seminary’s four-year program on Mediumship. Our courses draw heavily on the Modern Spiritualist movement and its extensive research, knowledge and experience. Mediumship is an art form that takes years of experience to hone. Positive and constructive intent are paramount in the Medium devoted to the client’s best interest. Our Mediums are trained to channel only positive and constructive entities, to purify the space and to bless their activities. You can be assured that a Registered OIIM Spiritual Medium (RSPm) has years of mentorship, experience and training, and has proven their intent to put the client’s best interest first.
We are Spirit clothed in a physical body and living on earth. This being the case, every child is born with varying degrees of a sixth sense which is the natural state of Spirit. There are those with exceptional psychic abilities, known as mediums, through whom people who have crossed over to the world of Spirit can communicate with the people they have left behind. Some people manifest their mediumistic ability at an early age. Others need quite a long period of time to develop, while some never show any interest in developing this natural ability. Mediums although possessing this ability, are fundamentally no different from the rest of us. There is nothing supernatural or special about them.
Mediumship takes two forms, mental and physical. The former is more common. In this case, Spirit works through the Medium’s mind and he or she is able to see, hear or sense forms or sounds. These forms of mediumship are called clairvoyance, clairaudience, or clairsentience, respectively. All Mediums possess one, or a combination, of these three forms. An important element to stress is that there is no fortune telling being practised. A medium can see what is likely to happen but it is not pre-determined. We believe we create our own futures. It is true that many fortune tellers, including the gypsy, possess the skill of clairvoyance, but in the vast majority of cases there is nothing very spiritual about their talent.
How do Mediums work?
In the days before automation, three persons were necessary in the making of a telephone call — the caller, the person at the exchange and the person being called. No connection could be made without the operator. So it is with spirit communication. In this case, the Medium is the operator making contact with someone in the Spirit world who wishes to communicate with a person on earth. There is, however, a big difference between a telephone call and Spirit communication. In the former, a two-way conversation can take place, while in the latter, only Spirit can contact us. One of the misunderstandings about Mediums is that we call up the dead. This we cannot do, simply because they can come to us when they are able to and only if they so wish.
In Spirit communication there is a fourth link — the Spirit guide or helper who assists the Medium as well as brings the person in Spirit into contact with the individual on earth. Between the Medium and the helper a close and harmonious partnership needs to exist, thus providing the line of communication between the two worlds. With the Medium’s consent, the Spirit helper is able to enter the Medium’s mind and use it so that thoughts are submitted from the Spirit world, and in turn brought forward by the Medium as descriptions of places or people through clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience or trance.
Where do Mediums work?
In private offices, at church services or public meetings. They also work in smaller groups or circles, as well as in private sittings where contact can be made with the Spirit world on behalf of the person seeking the communication. Mediums also hold circles for the development of potential clairvoyants. Another form of mediumship is psychometry, in which a Medium, while holding an object, can obtain impressions of the person to whom it belongs, such as character, habits and incidents connected with his/her life. There have been many instances where psychometry has been used to aid the police in finding missing persons or bringing criminals to justice. The other form of mediumship is physical and demands a very high degree of psychic power which many Mediums do not possess. These include direct voice communication in which the Spirit person speaks through the Medium and in his/her own recognizable voice using a “Spirit” larynx. There is also materialization. This is when those in Spirit present themselves solidly and visibly to persons present. Often they can be touched and felt as though they were physically present. In these forms of mediumship, the Medium goes into trance; that is, the Medium becomes dulled to immediate surroundings, while generally still retaining partial consciousness. Trance can also be used in the home circle, which is a very intimate form of contact with Spirit. In the home circle, a small group of sincere sitters gather around and the Medium’s guide speaks through the Medium to those present; they in turn, can ask questions and receive answers.
There is no end to the ways in which the Spirit world endeavours to communicate with us. This is done in order to prove that they still live on and can continue to give us help and guidance. It is imperative that a Medium be a highly spiritual and dedicated person who recognizes the great responsibilities, not only to oneself, but also to the guide and to the recipients of messages from the other side. You may be told that you could be a Medium. It is quite possible that you could with proper development. You can always be helped if the latent ability which is in all of us can be brought to the surface. Some would-be Mediums ask if it is possible to sit alone for development. It is possible, but not advisable. It is best to join a good circle led by an experienced Medium and composed of sincere sitters, for mutual help, and growth.
Besides the will to sit, two conditions are also essential - punctuality and regular attendance. If you cannot fulfill these conditions, do not join until you are able to do so. Remember, you are making an appointment with Spirit and they are never late!
