Practice and Application of Phenomena

[The following article was written when I was studying Modern Spiritualism with the Morris Pratt Institute.]

The responsibility of the sitter and the medium are really important for any successful reading or even the giving of short messages. It is one of our major principles of Spiritualism, in short, is “Personal Responsibility.” It places the responsibility of what happen in our life totally on our shoulders. It is not the responsibility of others to take care of us. If we go into a reading with a chip on our shoulders, we are for sure going to have no reading at all, or a very poor one. I can vouch for this in that I tried to give a reading to a woman in Florida. She had the type of personality that says, “it really doesn’t matter what you say or try to say to me, I will make sure its bad and WILL get my money back.” She did. This type of personality in a person is what gives Spiritualism a bad name among the friends of a person with that type of personality. The lesson really emphasizes the true responsibility of all individuals involved in mediumship. I am glad to be able to express what this lesson has to say to those I work with at the Church I attend here in Montreal. It seems to me that we just don’t take enough time to really understand what is involved in giving readings and messages and, often, get ourselves into trouble on a personal basis.

I was glad to read the section that expresses continuing need for education. I have been told that I read too much and practice what I preach too little. That may be so in the eyes of some, but I believe that the more I know about the beliefs and principles of Spiritualism and its teachings, the better. These lessons have been a real eye opener for me in many respects, especially this lesson twenty. I have thought about the things this lesson has to say, but I think that I really needed to see it in writing so that I am able to truly bring to the surface of my mind, daily, my responsibility towards Spiritualism and other people.

The real benefits of mediumship, when we are able to practice it properly bring to the sitter, and ourselves, a better understanding of our roll in life. Mediumship is for those who really need a little direction in their life and not for that person who is looking for some one to do their work for them. We are really just individuals in the greater scheme of life. It is quite satisfying to be able to help some one who really needs it, and for the person who is able to take advice and use it for their personal greater good. I think that it is a good to give to others and to reap the benefits of the work. It is also one of the goals of mediumship.