A Spiritual Address by Andrew Woodley.
When we talk about Spiritualism, we often talk about philosophy, guidance and the knowledge that comes to us from the spirit world. But where does that knowledge begin?
I believe it begins right at the start of our own spiritual journey.
People sometimes ask me about mediumship and how it works. When someone first comes into a development circle, they may struggle. They might sit there and wonder why nothing seems to be happening, particularly when they see somebody more experienced apparently making a connection with spirit much more easily.
My answer is that two things are particularly important: patience and commitment.
When we work with spirit, we may expect our guides and helpers simply to be there for us. But spiritual development is a journey. It takes time, dedication and a willingness to keep turning up and working at it.
I don’t say that lightly. Like everybody else, I have experienced difficulties in my own life. There have been occasions when circumstances have made things difficult, but commitment means getting up and continuing whenever we can. For somebody developing their mediumship, that might simply mean committing to that one evening each week when they sit in circle and work on developing their gifts.
Learning to Be at Peace With Yourself
There is another important part of development that comes before anything else: learning to love yourself and finding happiness and contentment within yourself.
That can be difficult.
We all have material concerns and problems. Nobody is suggesting that we can simply pretend those problems don’t exist. But when we give ourselves an hour or two each week for spiritual development, we can begin learning how to put our material concerns to one side for a while.
We give ourselves the space to become still and receptive.
From there, we can begin exploring some of the basics of spiritual teaching and mediumship.
How Do We Recognise Spirit?
One of the questions people naturally ask when developing mediumship is: how do I know spirit is actually there?
How can I tell the difference between communication from spirit and my own thoughts or imagination?
Part of the answer, for me, is learning to trust.
Early in my own development, I became aware of a little boy called Mickey. I had enough belief in what I was experiencing to say openly, “I’ve got a little boy with me.”
At that point, I didn’t know that Mickey was my guide. It was through sitting in circle repeatedly and continuing my development that I came to understand the relationship.
That trust between a medium and their guide is something special. It isn’t necessarily something that appears fully formed. It is something that develops and strengthens as you learn to work together.
Our Guides and Our Journey
Everybody is different and, likewise, every guide is different.
I believe our guides can be working in the background long before we consciously become aware of them. Looking back at my own life, I feel Mickey had been somewhere in the background for much of it, even though I didn’t enter a development circle until I was in my early thirties.
There were also similarities between us. I’m a Cockney boy, born within the sound of Bow Bells. Mickey was a Cockney too and had spent time in the workhouse as a little boy. There was a certain cheekiness that we shared.
For me, that helped us to work together. There was a connection through which trust could develop.
Whatever stage you are at, whether you are sitting in a development circle, only beginning to explore Spiritualism, coming along to church, or joining us online, I believe there is purpose and meaning in the journey.
Wherever that journey takes you, spirit can be with you.
A Personal Experience With My Brother
I was reminded of this very powerfully through something that happened recently in my own family.
I lost my brother.
My brother and I weren’t particularly close. There were twenty years between us and he was strongly opposed to anything connected with spirit or mediumship.
Towards the end of his life, things happened very quickly. He went into hospital and was eventually sent home for his final days.
I travelled down to see him.
As he lay in the hospital bed that had been provided for him at home, I became intensely aware of spirit around him. There was so much spiritual presence there.
I couldn’t really say anything about it to anybody else in the room. Instead, it became something private between my brother and me.
I leant down to him and quietly said, “It won’t be long now, bruv.”
I left and drove away. By the time I reached my hotel, I received the telephone call telling me that he had passed.
Nobody Makes the Journey Alone
That experience taught me something important.
My brother had wanted nothing to do with spirit or mediumship during his physical life. Yet, in my experience that day, spirit was still there for him at the end.
They were there to help him as he made that transition.
Throughout our lives, we will meet people who don’t believe what we believe. Some will reject Spiritualism or mediumship entirely. That is their belief and their journey.
But my own faith tells me that when our time comes to pass into the spirit world, we are not alone. We are met by those healing guides and loved ones who have gone before us.
That is one of the great comforts of Spiritualism.
So wherever you are on your own journey, have patience. Make the commitment. Learn to trust. And remember that spiritual development isn’t about rushing towards a destination.
It is about growing in understanding as we travel.
God bless.
This article was drafted using Chat GPT AI from a transcript of the medium’s spiritual address during our Divine Service. Edited by humans. Featured image by Chat GPT.
