Just a reminder that there are other explanations for manifestations/communications in the seance room or at a demonstration of mediumship. Spirit can and does communicate but not every squeak in circle is a spirit! It is a pity to reduce the memory of a loved one to the level of an inane comment, grunt or rap which may be caused by something or someone else entirely and it is a shame that explanation as to why this happens in circle or at a demonstration of clairvoyance is seldom taught nowadays. Do loving beings come through? Yes they do and try very hard to get the message across. They deserve the best service and a better informed audience.
"Oh, if I could only leave you the proof that I continue. Yet another attempt to run the blockade - to strive to get a message through. How can I make your hand docile enough - how can I convince them? I am trying, amid unspeakable difficulties. It is impossible for me to know how much of what I send reaches you". An Automatic Writing message from Frederic Myers
The Cross Correspondences:
Myers passed over in 1901 and Mrs Verall, a friend in Cambridge, took up Automatic Writing again in the hope that he would be able to communicate from the other side. Very shortly after his death she did receive communications that appeared to come from him and so did other psychics in the United States and India. These communications, always through automatic writing, continued a theme which had begun before Myers' death and they continued for thirty years. The main communicators were Henry Sidgwick, Frederic Myers, Edmund Gurney, Francis Maitland Balfour, Annie Marshal, Laura Lyttleton and Mary Catherine Lyttleton, a group of spirits which included founding members and presidents of the Society for Pyschic Research. The instructions that came through were often very clear indeed; the 'script' was to be sent to a certain person - who was then found to be one of the other psychics involved, or the script was to be sent to the Society for Psychical Research. The messages themselves tended to make no sense or were very mysteriously worded. More than three thousand scripts were transmitted over the thirty years. Initially the psychics (many of whom were well-known society women, some working under other names) did not know that their work tallied. In 1906-07 Alice Johnson made the discovery that they appeared to be channelling the same messages, which she called cross-correspondences. It appears that as soon as this realisation was made the messages, which in the main had been a communication of love from a 'dead' woman to her still living fiance, became even more complex with an obscure book, 'Greek Melic Poets', being the source of all references. "Record the bits," Myers communicated, "and when fitted they will make the whole." "..I will give the words between you that neither alone can read but together they will give the clue." Myers and the others were out to prove that the mind of the medium could not be the creator of the message by making a dozen psychics in diverse parts of the world - and remember this was at the start of the 20th century - refer to the same topic (which could be highly obscure) and do so in a complementary fashion. --------------------------------- "The truth must prevail" So please, please listen to the recordings uploaded onto Youtube by the Leslie Flint Trust: Sir William Crookes Spirit Communication Leslie Flint (in 3 parts). |
Helen Duncan:
One of Britain's best-known mediums, reputedly Winston Churchill and George VI were among her clients. She was arrested in January 1944 at a seance in Portsmouth. The military authorities, secretly preparing for the D-day landings, were alarmed by reports that she had disclosed the sinking of two British battleships before the news became public - HMS Hood and HMS Barham. The materialised forms of sailors with HMS Barham on their caps were reported to have been seen at her demonstration. As a direct result the authorities were questioned, by Maurice Barbanel the then editor of Psychic News for one. The loss was denied. It then turned out that news of the tragedy had been suppressed to preserve public morale. To silence this apparent leak of state secrets Helen Duncan and 3 others were charged with conspiracy, fraud and witchcraft (under an act dating back to 1735 - the first such charge in over a century). In just 25 minutes the jury returned their verdict; they found the four defendants guilty of conspiracy to disregard the Witchcraft Act. They were discharged from giving verdicts on the other counts! The judge deferred pronouncing sentence until after the weekend but when the court reconvened he stated that the verdict had not been concerned with whether “genuine manifestations of the kind are possible… this court has nothing to do with such abstract questions. The jury has found this to be a case of plain dishonesty.” Helen Duncan was jailed for nine months. Then Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited her in prison and called her conviction "tomfoolery". In 1951 he repealed the 200-year-old act; but her conviction stood. There have been repeated attempts to get her a pardon. |
The White Crow Metaphor: In 1896 Dr William James talked about the White Crow Metaphor while discussing the work of the famous medium Mrs Leonora Piper. He said it was not necessary to show all crows to be black but is enough to show one crow can be white. Mrs Piper's reputation as a medium was, in the eyes of some serious researchers, damaged when examined - although even they said she demonstrated remarkable telepathy. Others, like Dr James, thought her the best channel for Spirit. Her control, Phinuit, did not invariably come over as an entity in his own right - many good mediums have a control who (or which) is more than likely to be a part of their own psyche and not a spirit person. This does not stop spirit communicating through that medium, nor negate the evidence obtained through them.
So when those sailors of HMS Barham showed themselves (or, shall we say, at the very least communicated directly with the medium) in front of so many witnesses the existence of yet another 'white crow' was documented in the shape of Helen Duncan. It is irrelevant that her career was not untouched by scandal; that incident on its own is sufficient proof.
So when those sailors of HMS Barham showed themselves (or, shall we say, at the very least communicated directly with the medium) in front of so many witnesses the existence of yet another 'white crow' was documented in the shape of Helen Duncan. It is irrelevant that her career was not untouched by scandal; that incident on its own is sufficient proof.