Brief Description Of Spiritualism

[Leon]

Spiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a belief in God, but the distinguishing feature is belief that spirits of the dead can be contacted, either by individuals or by gifted or trained "mediums", who can provide information about the afterlife.

Spiritualism developed in the United States and reached its peak growth in membership from the 1840s to the 1920s, especially in English-language countries, By 1897, it was said to have more than eight million followers in the United States and Europe, mostly drawn from the middle and upper classes, while the corresponding movement in Latin speaking countries is known as Spiritism.

The religion flourished for a half century without canonical texts or formal organization, attaining cohesion by periodicals, tours by trance lecturers, camp meetings, and the missionary activities of accomplished mediums. Many prominent Spiritualists were women. Most followers supported causes such as the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage. By the late 1880s, credibility of the informal movement weakened, due to accusations of fraud among mediums, and formal Spiritualist organizations began to appear. Spiritualism is currently practiced primarily through various denominational Spiritualist Churches in the United States and United Kingdom.

[mick]

thank you for that desciption into spiritlism leon,can i add that spiritlism is a way off life for me as a medium .rather than a religion , a in i do not pray to a "god" more a "higher source"
For me being a medium is about being able to help others before myself.if i need help i have a conection with me to help, also a wife that is into spiritlism as well as a reikie healer

[jesusrose]

Thank you Leon,

I hadn't realized that Spiritualism is a religion - just always thought I was 'spiritual'.

This website is really opening me up to new ideas. My dreams are so different now and my experiences with 'the other side' are more clear and intermixed with my daily life.

Thank you again,
Rose

[prius02]

I am always learning thank you all

[stonewall]

That is a very good description and analysis of Spiritualism Leon.
I never knew Spiritualism was a religion, and it is very beneficial to be in possession of this knowledge and understanding.

I am a sponge for information and data ;D

God Bless

Stonewall

[artstone]

Just curious, why do things need to be categorized and put into parameters?
I don't mean that in an offensive way.
I've just never understood why anyone's particular beliefs have to fit into a box with a name on it.
I believe I am Spirit, One with God, an individual expression of God, having a human experience.
I've no desire to attach a label to my beliefs about Who I am.
Hope this doesn't offend anyone. Just a thought I felt like sharing.

[tepet]

I need clients to know I am a physical (transfiguration) medium so they do not expect a psychic medium or a clairvoyant. Otherwise they tend to freak out a bit. Otherwise I could care less.

[tepet]

God = EVERYthing/NOthing, i.e., the Big Zero.

[patycke]

I believe that god is in your heart and every living thing. He is not always in a building. If you have god in your heart always, he will be with you always

[SyneGirl]

Being 'Spiritual' and 'spirituality' has always been for me a way of expressing what my beliefs are. I believe in God or the Force that guides us, and of which we are all a part. It also says to those, who want to ensure that I do have a faith, that I do have a faith. I am an adoptive parent and this requires lots of forms and questioning and interviews, and for good reason. The best is that I can say I was raised 'Roman Catholic'. That, ironically, put everyone's mind at ease.

That was an aside and more in response to artstone.

What I really think is interesting is that I have always said that all paths lead to Rome and as long as you are on one, you are good. (I don't know that it is possible not to be on one.) Anyhow, as I meet new people, it is great to see how many different paths exist. I have one person who giggled nervously when he mentioned the Secret as if he was afraid of how it would be received. I have the DVD and the audio and think Rhonda Byrne did a great job of getting a powerful message to a wide range and large number of people. At the same dinner at my house, I had invited a lady, who I met through the community. I liked her. We have communicated and socialized a few times, but more related to my young son prior to this evening. When she talked, I was floored. She is a Shaman and talked about her last trip under the surface of the earth talking with the tree roots. ( I probably got it all wrong, since it is so foreign to me.) The bottom line is that, as I have always known, if I understood what was happening, I would not be here. It is all so much more than I can fathom.

I just call it 'magic', smile, kiss my son on his beautiful little cheek and keep going.

[Ishtahota]

Religion=Someone elses beliefs in God or Gods that has been put together for othersd to follow. It is something comeing to us from the outside in. And it takes no personal work to be part opf or believe in.
Spirituality=Spirituality is doing ones personal clearing work to develope conscious contact and a personal relationship with God, higher-self and/or the other side, and let it reveal itself to you on a personal level. And once this is done you can put faith and belief in the garbage where it belongs. Who needs faith and belief when you have the knowing.

[sparklekaz]

Hi Ishta,

I liked your description of the difference between Religion and spirituality "Spirituality=Spirituality is doing ones personal clearing work to develop conscious contact and a personal relationship with God, higher-self and/or the other side, and let it reveal itself to you on a personal level". It encapsulates perfectly for me how I have always viewed it. But I know we are each unique and will have our own perspective on it.

I understand what you mean when you say who needs faith and belief, when we have 'the knowing'. But for many the knowing is not an easy thing to attain. When this is the case I belief faith is the most important thing we have. Faith for me is trust, trusting that something is so without knowing it. Its easy to believe when you 'know', when you don't, faith is the most powerful thing we have.

Thank you for sharing.

Love and light
Kaz

[subsidinginsanity]

Kaz, in my experience most of those who have the knowing should have stuck with the faith.

[sparklekaz]

Hi subsiding,

Can you elaborate on what you mean by that?

Love and light
Kaz

[subsidinginsanity]

Just that far too many people claim that they know God based on their spiritual experiences.

Apparently this is what is required to "know" God.

1. Realize that you are a sinner.

2. Recognize that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you.

3. Repent of your sin.

4. Receive Jesus Christ into your life.

And of course if you don't do these things you burn in hell forever because they "know" that God is the monster the Bible describes.

Experiences are based on our perception. Perception involves interpretation. Spiritual and religious folks are in general too quick to accept their experiences as "proof" of knowing. Out of 7+ billion people it would not surprise me in the least if only a few hundred or so actually know.

[samy03]

Very very well and accurate description given by artstone and ishtahota, about the real meaning of being spiritualistic over here.

I appreciate and respect all of your precious thoughts, being said about the journey towards GOD (Spiritualism).

Spiritualism is not about believing the existence of GOD in church/temples/holy places/heart etc..
He lives in each and every particle of life.

His presence is as equal as he is in a church or a pub.

He can't be seen with these human eyes. And that's what we learn from spirituality.

Now a days, religion has been changed into the shape of Spirituality. And, that has been used as satisfying our own presence in the society with a nice image among the people.

But nevertheless, GOD has his own ways to move us towards him, the way he wants. So, there is no question of how, when and why the process of knowing him is different from one person to another.

Spirituality makes the person understand how to balance his/her inner and outer self, while living in the society.

Practicing spiritualism and revealing the truth of spirituality, are two different opinions vary from person to person.

Finally, we have nothing other then praying/recalling/thinking about the GOD and his blessings.
Its not in our hands to experience him by our own. Whenever he feel/want, he will shine his presence in us.

So, the core/mantra is "Wake up & develop that thirst to think about him, like taking breath"

God Bless everyone.

[pilgrim2020]

I would like to take the initiative of escorting you all into the innermost realms of a man who may have subliminally sown the seed of his own suffering, for the sake of his spiritual growth and salvation.

What i discovered, is that, any kind of growth; be it physical or spiritual, involves pain and suffering. In physical growth, we undergo growing pains. Similarly, spiritual growth also entails pain and suffering. And it is through this pain and suffering that we grow spiritually. All the great saints and sages in the past can testify to that. And, in all humility, i can too.

It was a period in my life when i was undergoing unbearable suffering. To lessen my pain, I started studying & engaging the practices of different religions (and later took a 6 year course in Hinduism). Anyway, one evening, i became determined to alter the course of my life. I started engaging the Vipasana form of meditation. Actually it is an Indian breathing exercise that i thought would work for me. It’s where one focuses only on the out-breath (exhale), which in essence teaches you one-pointedness. (Contrary to the propaganda circulated by several conventional religions, the Hindus believe in one God. In fact, fathom this. They believe that the whole Universe is made in It. So everything has the element of God in it. If you take a piece of wood and look at it through a microscope, you will see neutrons and protons moving. Where there is movement, there is life. In liquid, it is obviously moving even faster. So in essence, everything has that God element in it, including us. Only we are too distanced from that God element within ourselves.) So getting back to where i bracketed off, i did this breathing exercise for over an hour and as a result my mind and my body became very calm. I then employed the practice of a mantra form of meditation. It’s where you focus on the words SOHUM (actually when you inhale it sounds like SO and when u exhale it sounds like HUM). SOHUM in Sanskrit means I Am That. So after 45 minutes of repeating this mantra, i started feeling very light, accompanied by this mild sense of euphoria... I felt i was floating...& that something was going on...and then suddenly i was engulfed in this very bright Light made from Love. In fact, I became totally immersed in Love - to the point where i was literally swooning in this Love. It was of such insurmountable proportion, that not being able to contain it, i started crying. Of course, this cry was emanating from the ineffable joy i was experiencing at that moment. I was ecstatic to say the least. Then all my anger and passion against people that had harmed me & caused me pain, transformed into compassion. I felt unconditional love not just for them, but for all of humanity. I then realized that God is Love. It lies very passively within you and to reach It, you have to go within. And the closer you get to this Divinity that dwells in you, the more of its attributes you share. You become kinder, more loving, more compassionate, more understanding, more intuitive, more sensitive, more prophetic etc. And the further you are away from this Divinity that dwells in you, the more cruel you are, the more misguided you are etc etc.

So, from that day on in December 1988, my life changed & i have ever since held conventional religions in deep suspicion. Later i have discovered that there are at least 100 verses in the Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita that are identical in the Quran and the Old Testament. (one that comes to mind being, ``I am closer to you than your jugular vein``). So i need not say any further as i have no need to support or make claims against any religion. All i know is that my religion is my personal communion with the Divinity within. My goal in life is to become one with That within and live in that perpetual state of bliss that i have only had a taste of (which reminds me of the esoterics of Jalal-ud-din Rumi´s teaching which asseverates that after holding a piece of iron in fire, the iron and the fire will eventually become one)

Therefore, my friend, the truth is that the whole Universe lies within you. All you have to do is to delve within and find that ultimate retreat. You find That and you find all!

[sparklekaz]

Hi peacepilgrim,

A truly beautiful post that I can relate to on so many levels. I have not delved so deeply into the different spiritual belief, but I have come to understand that within everything lies the essence, life force of God; And that by trying to bring myself back to and connect with that essence, I bring out more of those God like qualities of love, compassion and understanding in myself and in my interactions with other people.

And yes, I can confirm that it has been through my most painful experiences, my mistakes that I have learned the most powerful of soul lessons. Its an interesting paradox that though love is the transformative energy, suffering seems to be the force that elicits the most soul/spiritual growth. I think its because its the one thing that forces us out of our comfort zones, and pushes us beyond previous life experiences and self imposed limitations by being closed off to other possibilities. Why would someone search for alternative answers to what is happening to them, if they were comfortable and undisturbed where they were?

Having said that, I believe one can come to the realisation of where they have gone wrong whilst still being stuck by the consequences of those previous actions or decisions. The test then is to find the inner courage to break out of that. But how to do so without causing more harm. For whether we did right or wrong, the circumstances of our life include other people who are comfortable with things as they are. Ultimately we are not responsible for the soul growth of other people. But there is no doubt we are a part of it. As you have said our sensitivity to other people grows proportionately with our own spiritual awareness. Knowing what you must do, is easier then doing what you must do without causing pain to others. Just saying that often when we try to correct something for ourselves, we make things worse for other people. How does someone reconcile that fact within themselves I wonder.

Thank you for sharing.

Love and light
Kaz

[pilgrim2020]

Dear Kaz,

Thank you very much for your kind words of wisdom. I am very busy lately but will definitely write to you very soon as i find you to be an evolved soul! 5 to 6 hours of my life is taken up feeding around 1000 stray cats every day without fail wherever i am. Now for the past few years i have been in Shanghai, and God, these poor animals really need help here.

Thanks again and may you be one with Him/It,

Mekaiel

ps. i think i may not be following instructions too well but i dont see a reply button to reply directly to you

[mysticnamaste]

Thank you, Leon for this brief description of spirituality. In US like you say it's more like a religion, in Mexico if you talk about it people most likely tend to think you are a witch or a Shaman, like you are into spiritism, which by the way it is practiced by a lot of people who call themselves Curanderos and I call them thieves . I believe there is a higher power or energy within us that makes things happen when it is channeled to the right way... And in order to get that, you need faith first and through faith you start trusting or knowing your true self.



Thank you again for your post.

[bigbadbeef]

If spiritualism is what you say it is, then how is this different from monotheism?

[krsnaraja]

I use to be the doctor of the internationally famous CPDRC dancing inmates. When people go to prison being accuse of a crime. I doubt if they don`t become remorseful and cry after being confined inside the prison cells. They languish inside for days, weeks, months, years and even for life. Some are executed. This photo speaks for itself on the subject,  " Spiritualism. "