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Mark Stone

Spiritualism: is there life beyond life?

By Claire Price

Healing for the soul or spooky mumbo jumbo? What’s your view on spiritualism? Claire Price went to meet some of the more medium-minded in Poole to find out what spiritualism is really all about.

Waterstones book shop in Poole might be a rather mundane place to discuss the spirit world. But according to medium Mark Stone, that’s precisely the point.

Spirits don’t lurk in haunted houses or dark corners, he says. They are all around us - in the supermarket isle, at the bus stop and even at home.

I had gone along to the evening to hear a series of talks on different aspects of spiritualism – earth-bound spirits, mediumship and healing.

Forget ouija boards, crystal balls and ghosts. Spiritualism, according to these speakers, is much less scary than we think.

Mystic Mark

Mark Stone has been a medium since the age of 16. He works at the Light Awareness Centre in Winton, near Bournemouth.

According to him, we train our children out of understanding the spirit world.

“Children are much more perceptive to the spirit world than we think. But if they draw mummy with green hair and an orange face, we tell them they’re wrong. Yet they might be seeing an auric field that we’ve lost the ability to see.”

The spirit world, says Mark, is on a finer vibration than a radio wave but it works on the same principle. It’s all around you and - with patience - you can tune into it too.

“Spiritualism is great because you can prove it,” he adds. “I’ve heard things from the spirit world that are so specific, it’s more than just a shot in the dark.”

Mark explains how he wins over the skeptics. >

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“Mediumship allows loved ones to show us that they’re still a part of our lives, even though they have moved on from this life. Although some of my mates think I’m an absolute fruit loop for saying that!”

Spiritualist Churches

While attendance at orthodox churches is steadily declining, at spiritualist churches it’s growing. The services follow a similar pattern, with prayers, a reading and an address.

What differs is its use of mediumship, which gives members of the congregation messages from beyond the grave.

“A lot of people are coming to spiritualist churches searching for answers about life,” explains Mark.

“Spiritualism isn’t just about life after death – it’s about life now. We help people ask themselves what their spirit within them wants to do. They don’t have to subscribe to anything or believe in anything.”

Wilma Davidson

Reincarnation

What the spirit within us actually is remains open to question. Wilma Davidson, author of 'Spirit Rescue' suggests it might be a spirit that has lived in another body before.

“I believe in reincarnation because there is just so much proof for it,” she tells me.

“Just recently we heard of young twins who were heard speaking to each other in Aramaic long before they had learnt to talk.”

Wilma explains why she believes in reincarnation. >

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What if you still find it hard to believe? Mark doesn’t think that’s a problem.

“I always think skepticism is good – don’t believe everything you see, read and hear. Have it proved for yourself. Go along with an open heart. You never know what might come out of the experience.”

Whether you’re a convert or a curious observer, BBC Dorset would like to hear your experiences of spiritualism. Let us know what you think.

last updated: 30/10/07

Have Your Say

Have you had any experiences of spiritualism?

Christine
The Spiritualist Church was able to help me find answers when a relation's baby died.I didnot just get a reassuring message but information on items belonging to various family members which I had to verify.This proved to me that your spirit/soul lives on after death.

Russ
For seeral years I served as a local Police Officer.On duty a fellow officer and I met a nationally known Spritualist medium and the information she was able to communicate was truly remarkable.Not only loved ones - but others too. A man, who had commiited suicide made contact with her. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate him. He had led a troubled life and his method of killing himself had unusual aspects. The facts of this were only known to me yet this medium was able to describe it accurately saying that the man wished to thank me for my efforts but he was pleased to have left his troubled world and be elsewhere with loved ones. She went on to bring to my colleague and I other people in our lives. It became clear to us both there was much more to this world of ours than two hardened coppers were at once prepared to acknowledge. Life after death is an intriguing subject and one worthy of serious study.

Mrs Smith
Ive been going to Spiritualist church since i was 15. Its such a wonderful place to be. I was also married in Spiritualist church. Ive had lots of messages and also Im a meduim myself. I believe in God meaning just god. You find your own truth. Theres no-one preaching to you about Jesus. Spirtualism is so normal to me. We have a spirit within us, So why is it such a shock to anyone when we say we have seen one. You find your answers with Spiritualism it makes sense. We speak from the heart and not a book someone as put together. We dont pretend we know everything, but we do know theres a reason to why we are here.

Pamela Davis
Since becoming involved with Spiritualism, my life has become enriched beyond measure. I was brought up as a Christian, but left the church when I was fourteen, many of the philosophies and beliefs of Christianity didn’t fit with me and left many questions about life and death unanswered. Spiritualism has not only answered many of my questions about the life we are living now, it also proves through mediumship, that death is not the end and life is eternal for everyone. Spiritualism doesn’t claim to have all the answers but it also doesn’t dictate what we can and can’t believe in. What it does do is encourage us to question and seek our own truth, which sets us apart from many other religions and belief structures.

John Burst
I personally believe in Spiritualism. It ticks more boxes and answers more questions than other religions. The vast majority of ancient religions base their belief on contact with their ancestors. They live life for now and respect their environment, giving thanks for all they receive. Perhaps with modern thinking asking us to all reduce our carbon footprint, we could learn something. Everybody has lost somebody at sometime. To me the proof of continued existence and the direct messages from beyond the grave shows that we need to listen and try to understand more.

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