intro to mediumship lesson 1

Introduction to Mediumship0 7 / 1 5 / 2 0 1 5 – 1 S T C L A S S – C O N S C I O U S L I V I N G S P I R I T I S T G RO U P ( N O RT H M I A M I , F L )

T H E S P I R I T S ’ B O O K – T H E M E C H A N I C S O F M E D I U M S H I P – E VO LU T I O N I N T WO WO R L D S –T H E M E D I U M S ’ B O O K – M E D I U M S H I P : S T U DY & P R AC T I C E ( F E B ) - E X P L O R E S P I R I T I S M . C O M

Module 1 – Historical Progress/Evolution of Mediumship

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Regarding MediumshipEven after one full century of mediumship in the light of the Spiritist Teachings, entailing unmistakable proofs of the survival of the soul after death – proofs in which the selflessness of Divine Messengers and the tolerance of many sensitives have been put to the test – mediumship is still misunderstood and ridiculed today.

Since mediumship is a faculty inherent in the human being, communication between the two planes of life has always occurred.

As with everything, it has evolved, much like the Spirit does. This is why we see, historically speaking, the first beings of our planet addressing anything/anyone with “supernatural” characteristics (phenomena of nature ,etc.) as “gods”.

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“They labeled as God everything that was supra-human; thus, the spirits were gods to them. Also, that is why, whenever individuals distinguished themselves among others by their actions, their genius or a secret power that the common folk could not comprehend, they were made into a god and worshipped after death.” (SB 668).

As the Spirit evolves it learns how to apply the spiritual energies which is endowed with, extracting from the Universal Cosmic Fluid the elements needed to perfect its means of communication and exchange with the spirits/spirit world.

What is the UCF?

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The Universal Cosmic Fluid is the primitive elementary matter, whose modifications and transformations comprise the innumerable variety of bodies found in nature. It is the fundamental constituent of all matter. It assumes two extreme states, with a gradient of variations within each state and between the two.

One state is that of materialization, which gives rise to phenomena of the visible (material) world. The second state is that of etherealization and gives rise to the phenomena of the invisible world.

All the varieties and modifications found along the above mentioned gradient constitute derivatives of the initial, basic element. These derivatives are known as fluids. These fluids, whether tangible/perceptible to us or not, are all considered to be matter. They can be found in an infinite range of degrees of purity, from a starting point of absolute purity, all the way to that of transformation, in a way, a "condensation", into that which is tangible to us.

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Modifications of the cosmic fluid, while still in the state of etherealization, form an infinite variety of distinct fluids with varying levels of purity. These are referred to as spiritual fluids and form the material of the spiritual world.

Many of these spiritual fluids escape the perception of our human senses and instruments. Others are intimately tied to the corporeal life.

The latter are the fluids that are closest to the point of materialization and the least pure. They make up what is referred to as the spiritual atmosphere of the Earth, and they are in constant interaction with the material realm, whereby they affect, and are affected by, the beings that inhabit it.

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Emmanuel stated that the future belongs to the Spirit.

In stating such, he addresses the Spirit (ever evolving Spirit) as a citizen of the Universe who regards this faculty (mediumship) asan important tool for the spiritual interchange between individuals envisioning the future and self-betterment.

“The farther the evolutionary ascent, the more assuredly humans perceive the non-existence of death as the cessation oflife. Now, more than ever, people see themselves as consciousness held amid forces and fluids that are temporarilycombined for educational purposes.

They are slowly starting to grasp the fact that the grave is the door to renewal, just as the cradle is the access to thehuman experience, and they realize that their stay on the planet is a journey with a destiny aimed at the stages ofGreater Progress.

On this great pilgrimage, we are all instruments of the forces with which we are in tune. We are all mediums within ourown mental field, associating ourselves with edifying energ ies when our thoughts flow towards the higher life or withdisturbing and depressing forces as long as we are still enslaved to the shadows of a primeval and tormented life.

(In the Realms of Mediumship – Edicei of America).

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It’s important to review some things before continuing:

The process of Spiritual Progress hasn’t been accomplished only by the being him/herself. It was always seconded by the Superior Intelligent Forces, allowing our spiritual body (perispirit) to perfect itself, and as a result, producing a physical vehicle fit to soar higher and higher as we evolve.

As the Spirit evolves, it learns to refine the waves of thoughts, emitting vibrations that attract the thoughts and ideas of the Spirits (incarnate or discarnate) who are in tune with their own ideals by the means of affinity. It is in this process that the perceptive faculties are broadened, because the human psyche finds itself better structured.

In the book “Evolution in Two Worlds” Andre Luiz will tell us that intuition was the initial system of interchange, facilitating communication between individuals even at distance, initiating them into the subtle process of “**telementation” in the different realms of sentiments or ideas, through measurable whirlpools of mental waves (…).

** Word coined in English by William Walker Atkinson, meaning influence of the mind at distance. – Tr.

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Andre Luiz states:

“Their perceptions of these waves is conditioned by the level of their progress, progress that continues according to their storehouse of experience stored up in their individual mental field, in which they reveal what life has g iven them thus far, i.e. the time of their evolution, and what they themselves have given to life, i.e. the time of personal effort they have exerted in constructing their destiny.”

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All living beings, from the most rudimentary to the most complex, are surrounded by an “energetic aura” that corresponds to their nature.

In human beings, however, this projection is profoundly enriched and modified by the factors of continuous thought.

The aura is thus our omnipresent platform in all communications with the pathways of others, the antechamber of the spirit in our activities of interaction with all the life around us.

THE HUMAN AURA – INITIAL MEDIUMSHIP

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By means of it, we are observed and examined by Higher Intelligences, sensed and recognized by fellow beings attuned to us, feared and antagonized, or loved and assisted by brothers and sisters treading pathways less advanced than our own.

This is because we invariably exteriorize a reflection of ourselves in contacts of thought to thought, without the need of words to convey the underlying sympathies or antipathies.

It is due to this vibrational shield, a sort of fluidic casing in which each consciousness builds its ideal nest, that all the mediumistic work on earth began, since mediumship is an attribute the incarnate human uses to interact with discarnate ones.

THE HUMAN AURA – INITIAL MEDIUMSHIP

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Primitive Mediumship: intuition as the starting factor; the medium worships or fears the forces of nature, known to them as “gods”: sun, sky, moon, stars, rain, and even other human beings

Tribal Mediumship: development of collective mental mediumship: collective belief of Spirits and Gods

Among others - but, according to the High Order Spirits:

Earthly antiquity began lighting our way with striking manifestations of mediumship, manifestations that have continued throughout history.

MEDIUMSHIP – A HISTORICAL VIEW

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The disciples of Socrates refer with admiration and reverence to the invisible friend who was his constant companion.

Plutarch tells about the encounter Brutus had one night with one of his discarnate persecutors, who came to visit him in the countryside.

In the Temple of Minerva in Rome, Pausanias, condemned to die of hunger, continued to live as a spirit, appearing and disappearing before the eyes of startled bystanders for a long time, his monoideistic thought mired in the rebelliousness that had driven him mad.

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It is known that in the last days of his reign, Nero saw himself outside his physical body with his mother Agrippina and his wife Octavia – both murdered at his orders – forewarning him about his imminent fall into the abyss.

So many vengeful spirits surrounded Caligula after his remains were buried in the gardens of Lamia that they were frequently seen there until his body was exhumed and cremated.

But mediumship actually reached its pinnacle in nascent Christianity.

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The unforgettable Master’s entire passage amongst humankind is a canticle of light and love as he externalized his condition as a Medium of the Divine Wisdom.

To continue his ministry, the apostles who had remained loyal to him became powerful mediums on the day of Pentecost.

Because they were “all in accord in one place,” their energies converged and enabled the Lord’s spirit emissaries to produce impressive physical phenomena through them, such as luminous signs and direct voices − including manifestations of psychophony and xenoglossy − in which the teachings of the Gospel were given, simultaneously, in several different languages to Israelites from many different regions.

From then on, mediumistic phenomena became customary for them.

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For example, healing magnetism by means of gaze and laying-on of hands was widely practiced.

Suffering spirits were taken from the unfortunate individuals they had been obsessing.

Saul of Tarsus – an objective and obstinate man – was suddenly endowed with clairvoyance at the gates of Damascus and saw Christ himself, receiving instructions from him.

And because Saul, although courageous, experienced an enormous moral jolt, Jesus, in his mercy, turned to Ananias – a clairvoyant medium in the city – and asked him to help the companion who was just beginning his endeavor.

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Spirit messengers continued to assist the sowers of the Gospel not only in the apostles’ home in Jerusalem; mediumship provided invaluable, ongoing service in the homes of the Christians in Antioch as well. One of the mediums there, a man named Agabus, incorporated a spirit benefactor who made an important prophecy.

And in that same church, several mediumistic instruments gathered together produced the phenomenon of direct voice, consigning a highly important task to Paul and Barnabus.

And just as happens nowadays, the mediums of the past, in spite of having the Divine Blessing, experienced injustice and persecution. Wherever they went they had to endure inquests, insults, contempt and temptations. When Peter and John’s first began their mediumistic activities, they were thrown in jail. Steven was stoned.

Paul of Tarsus was arrested and beaten a number of times.

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Mediumship continued to shine amongst the Christian martyrs put to death in the circuses, and it was not eclipsed even when Jesus’ teachings began to suffer

stagnation under imperatives of a political order. Only a few centuries ago, Francis of Assisi exalted it in remarkable events; Luther had visions; Teresa of Avila had

out-of-body experiences; Joseph of Cupertino levitated in front of a startled Pope Urban VIII; and Swedenborg, outside his physical body, collected notes from various spirit planes and filtered them for human knowledge, according to the

conceptions of his time.


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Andre Luiz, Allan Kardec, Emmanuel and other Spirit Guides, through the countless pages we will use, for this course, will offer plenty of material for us to read about this amazing faculty that is available for the betterment of the soul, and to be applied under the Guiding Light of Jesus….

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TO FINALIZE:

“None of it will mean anything if the mediums – interpreters of the teachings brought on by the High Order Spirits – do not apply these teachings to themselves, in the development of the virtues of their immortal Spirit.”

Emmanuel

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intro to mediumship lesson 1

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