Leading American Spiritualist Tells of “Dead” Mother’s Materialization

Feb 102013
 
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joe merrill medium

The following article is an interview that I conducted with the Reverend Joseph Merrill in October 1989 at the 97th annual convention of the National Spiritualist Association and was originally published in the British Spiritualist weekly Psychic News in February, 1990.  Joseph Merrill performed the ceremony for me when I was ordained as a minister with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches at the Mediums League building at the Lily Dale Assembly in Lily Dale, New York, USA in August 1992.  I was serving that week at Lily Dale as a guest speaker and medium and I am blessed that Joe was able to do the ceremony for me.  I used to give out copies of this article to participants in my mediumship development classes years ago.  I think that the information is pretty good and I hope that readers of this blog enjoy it.  Let me know what you think.

It is always interesting to read the views of other Spiritualists, all the more as when they live some thousand miles away in America. 

When medium Stephen Hermann attended the Ninety-Seventh annual convention of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC) in Washington, DC, he took the opportunity to interview the Rev. Joseph Merrill.

Mr. Merrill has been active within Spiritualism for over seven decades.  Since 1973 he has served as NSAC president.  This is the oldest and largest Spiritualist organization in North America.

Previously, Mr. Merrill served various administrative positions with state Spiritualist associations, as well as secretary and vice-president of the NSAC.  From 1975 to 1981 he was vice-president of the International Spiritualist Federation.

Stephen, of Alexandria, Virginia, put various points to Mr. Merrill.  His questions appear in italics.

How did you become interested in the teachings of Spiritualism?

There came a time when I was bothered by what I was repeating at the Congregational Church, of which I was a member.

I had an appointment where I talked with the minister.  I told him that every Sunday when I went to my parents I repeated the Apostles Creed.  In that Apostles Creed we said we believed in life everlasting. I asked the minister what he could give me to cling to as I was growing up and wondering about this life everlasting. But the only thing I got was that it was a blind belief you must have; there was nothing concrete that he could give me. Within the Apostles Creed is a line in which the congregation say they believe in the Communion of Saints.

My question was this: who are the saints we are in communion with? They were a group of people who lived at one time on Earth; they did some miraculous good, died and went to heaven. The saints, said the minister, are nearer to God than we are so we can pray to them and they will intercede for us. I said that if that small group of people can be prayed to and intercede, where are the billions of people that are not of that particular faith? Why can’t we pray to them? Where are they? Where is heaven?

I couldn’t get any satisfactory answers, but found them in the religion of Spiritualism.

Did you find through Spiritualism that your perspective of God changed from the view you held as a Congregationalist?

I learned in Spiritualism that my concept of the deity changed.  I could not accept the fact that God was a personal deity. I questioned my inspirers and sent out a thought to them to give me an explanation of what our Infinite Intelligence was.  The answer came to me, and has satisfied me down throughout the years. It was that Infinite Intelligence is something that is back of, part of, and cause of the universe.

To me Spiritualism is a religion of evolution. If there was a creator, then there must have been a creator to create the creator and so that wouldn’t satisfy me. So I have lived with-and have been satisfied with-the fact that we have a much broader concept of the deity.

When did you become interested in Spiritualism? What was your background?

I became interested in Spiritualism in 1918, and joined a church in 1926.  My background could best be summed up saying that “Spiritualism was my vocation, while photography was my profession.”

In what direction do  you see Spiritualism currently moving?

It is moving in the direction that was predicted by one of the pioneers of Spiritualism, Emma Hardinge Britten, who foretold that there would be three 50-year cycles in Spiritualism.

The first would be centered around physical phenomena that would give to the world proof.  In the next 50 years Spiritualism would not be accepted and mediums were arrested.  They were scoffed at during this period. Finally there is the third 50-year cycle which we are currently in. This Cycle would move from the physical into the mental phenomena, “the age of the mind.”

It is popular today for many to speak of the New Age. What are your feelings about the New Age?

We are in the New Age, but there’s nothing new about it since every age is a new age. For instance, when man stepped on another planet and telephoned a communication from the moon to the White House, that was a new age.

There’s nothing new as far as New Age metaphysical thinking is concerned.

How about trance channeling? It seems that many people are interested in this phase of mediumship.

Currently we are in a period in which channeling is becoming very, very prominent and everybody wants to become a channeler  A channeler is very psychic. The world is getting full of psychics, but psychics are not mediums.

So there is a difference between a psychic and a medium. Could you elaborate on this further?

A psychic is one who is sensitive to the atmospheric conditions and can tune in on things pertaining to the material world. That is why we have a bad image in Spiritualism of telling fortunes.

As I always say, if you went to a medium to have your fortune told, they’d tell you their own before they’d  tell you yours. Channeling and psychism are not mediumship because mediumship is actual proof that life continues.

There’s no such thing as an extinction of life. Life knows no extinction. Life does not know extinction, only transformation: it transforms into a different form of energy. No one can tell you what “mind” is. Within every single one of us the mind is the dominant factor. We are the infinite respondent to this factor.

The deity within ourselves is what we in Spiritualism try to bring our people to understand. It is they themselves who are responsible for everything they do; they can make or break their own lives.

What do you see as the future of the Spiritualist movement?

Spiritualism as an organization will lessen because all organized religions do so over time.

Spiritualism as an organization may lessen, but the knowledge and understanding of Spiritualism will reach the heart and mind of every living individual that wants to listen.

It is popular for many New Agers to make use of crystals. What are your feelings concerning this sort of device?

Everything is a New Age, like crystals and tarot cards, and so fourth.  They’re being used as crutches.  We in Spiritualism teach you to rely on   your own faculties, then you do not need crutches if you can think.

Over time we learn how to understand and what to expect from our spirit teachers. They are there to guide us and to keep us in our material conditions; they are not there to live our lives for us because live our lives ourselves.  We are responsible. Man is responsible for himself.

Would you say there is a difference in the quality of mediumship today as compared to your early involvement?

Yes, definitely. In the early days mediums delivered messages from the platform and so fourth. It was far more evidential than it is today. Mediumship is moving into the psychic realm without the in-depth working of proof of spirit.

I have seen mental mediums who would give fourth full names-first, middle and last names.

Have you ever seen any examples of physical phenomena that you can describe to readers?

I sat in a darkened room with soft lights on. Present were 32 people with chairs against the wall on three sides.

The mother of a friend of mine had passed away about a year before this happened.

The chairs we sat on were the wooden folding type that had a crossbar underneath. We were up against the wall. If a medium wanted to fake this operation we would have seen so. He would have to go behind the chairs and into the wall.  Neither could they crawl under the chairs.

I felt a nudge at the foot of the chair so looked. Right at the floor by the foot of the chair was a white substance the size of a golf ball.  I said to my friend; “Oh, something wants to manifest. Let’s try to give it room.”

We tried to move the chairs, but couldn’t. By then the golf ball was seen by everybody in the room. Soon the golf ball started to expand. It grew to the size of an orange.  It continued to grow in size; and wax; it took form and had arms and limbs which moved.

It was a woman. She moved in circles around my friend’s back so that the spiritual form was in the wall. It was his mother, who was recognizable to all present. I could not say “That was fake.”

What are the differences between Christianity and Spiritualism?

We say we are not Christians in the sense of the orthodox theological definition of Christianity.

We believe there was a great spiritual teacher that came to the world whom we know as Jesus.

We believe he was a great teacher and healer. We differ with the Christians in believing that “what he did, we too can do.”

 What are some of the rewards Spiritualism has given you over the years?

I’m 86 years old-and people think that at 86 you’re on your way out. I was asked by friends a year ago what was my secret for longevity.

I thought for a moment and said, “Well, I don’t know.” Really, I don’t know. I don’t eat right, I don’t live right, but I think right. Thought and mind are tow of the most powerful things we have. We don’t understand the possibilities of the mind, and the mental powers we have.

Microwavable Mediumship

Feb 102013
 
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Microwavable Mediumship and Leaky Faucets, Who Don’t Know When to Close Down

Psychic Medium Steve HermannRecently I had the pleasure of visiting a friend and colleague of mine, a Certified Medium at Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Florida, USA, where I teach mediumship and healing programs for a few weeks every March.  When I arrived at his residence he had just sat down in front of his massive television to watch several episodes of Long Island Medium that aired back to back during the time that I spent conversing with him.  Even when I wasn’t watching the visuals, my friend had the volume up so loud that I could not miss the dialogue. I had first heard of the cable television show last year in Long Island at a Spiritualist church that I regularly serve when I am in the USA.  The student mediums at the church blasted what they considered to be an irreverent and misleading representation of mediumship as portrayed by the star of the show.   I rarely, if ever, watch television and have no interest in wasting my time that way and, although sympathetic with their evaluation, I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about in regards to the content of the program.  After seeing parts of the program I understood completely why they had been so disturbed, i saw it on a TV Show, that by the way I bought a Sony Trinitron 36 TV for sale.

 

I can’t control it.They won’t leave me alone whines the Long Island based medium, whose every detail of daily life is featured as part of the reality based hit cable series.   While it might be entertaining on television for a medium to casually approach strangers in public places such as Wal-Mart or McDonalds and invade people’s privacy and personal boundaries by bringing through deceased loved ones for them, such a practice indicates poor training and a lack of discipline in regards to mediumship.  I mean this all in a nice way as the medium featured on the television program seems like a nice lady and that she sincerely wants to help the people she is working with.

Over the past three decades that I have been involved with the Spiritualist movement as a student and practicing medium, I have heard some pretty ridiculous statements made by so called mediums.

I am a natural medium. I don’t need training.  My high guides teach me everything I need to know.   My mediumship is turned on 24/7. 

Of course, mediumistic ability is natural, have you ever heard of an unnatural medium?  Everyone has psychic ability and through proper training with the right teachers, whatever natural talent present in the individual may be enhanced and improved upon.

Mediumship is similar to artistic or musical talent.  We all possess varying degrees of ability and even such exceptional geniuses such as Michelangelo apprenticed with masters, who mentored them and helped them perfect their skills. Mediums who claim that they do not need training or that their higher guides or ascended masters teach them everything are seriously deluded and ignorant of the mechanics of the process.

Years ago I was contacted by a young man, who had advertised himself online as a psychic medium and wanted to do a public mediumship demonstration with me.  He was charging $400 an hour at the time.  According to what he told me, as well as the bio on his web site, he had received his training directly from ascended masters and had his mediumship turned on all the time.  His web site stated how he would receive spirit messages for people while eating in McDonalds.  He was proud about both these points.  I tried to explain the importance of controlling one’s mediumship, but I don’t think that he understood what I was trying to explain or he just didn’t want to listen to me.

One of the first skills novice mediums learn is how to properly attune   with the spirit world and close themselves down outside of the classroom or circle situation.  It is important to learn how to control mediumship ability as there is a time and place for working with the spirit world that should be strictly adhered to.  A medium should not be a like a leaky faucet and allow anyone to come through at anytime.  They call this Kitchen Sink mediumship at a Spiritualist church in Orlando, Florida that I have served over the years.

I know that as a medium I want quality in the work that I do.  Although mediumship may be imperfect as a process, mediums need to be selective with when and where they work.  Reliable mediumship is important and opening up at a cocktail party to entertain intoxicated guests at 2 AM is not the right time and place or for the right reasons.

I have a friend, one of the sweetest, most generous people I know, who opened up his mediumship a few years ago.  A skeptical instructor of engineering at a technical college, his born again Christian wife registered him to attend a mediumship demo at a college, where I taught parapsychology courses for many years.  Although he initially wanted to leave once he discovered what his wife had signed him up for, I convinced him to stay and proceeded to bring through his deceased father, whom he instantly recognized.  My friend’s life was changed forever with the realization that the personality continues after the physical body ceases to function.  He attended my popular annual mediumship retreat as well as development classes at a local Spiritualist church.  Within a year he was doing delivering spirit messages from the platform and holding open meetings every week in his own home.

My friend has good training, but for a long time he had a habit of approaching people in public and like the Long Island Medium bringing through spirit messages to them.  So far he hasn’t gotten maced, but I think that he is slowly learning, what every senior medium has told him, that he needs to discipline his mediumship and not go around giving spirit messages to total strangers.  My friend claimed that he didn’t push his messages on people, but would ask for permission first.  I suspected that he was saying this to me to get me off his back.  I was right.  When a non Spiritualist friend phoned for me at his house where I was staying, he uninvitingly started giving the caller a mediumship reading.  None of the information given was understood and the friend who called, although impartial to the practice of mediumship, felt as though the reading was pushed on him.

It is good to be enthusiastic about mediumship, but unless students learn the proper mechanics of communication and how to control the process, they will develop bad habits that will be difficult to change later on.

When we set a time aside to connect with the spirit world we are making an appointment. The spirit helpers, who specialize in communication, are with us and have made the right arrangements to assist those needing to communicate to come through.   When a deceased loved one or other comes through for a recipient they have rehearsed the process and in many cases have even observed spirit people communicating through other mediums.  The spirit helpers act as intermediaries for such communicators and assist in utilizing the psychic energies present for producing the best possible results for all concerned, both in the physical world as well as in spirit.  Many people don’t realize that what often passes off as spontaneous mediumship has generally been carefully planned and orchestrated by the spirit helpers.

Being a leaky faucet and opening up with the wrong conditions was referred to as promiscuous mediumship in the 19th century, as such an approach leads  potentially to connecting with frivolous and unreliable communicators.

Psychic Medium Steve HermannMediumship development generally does not happen overnight.  The spirit world cannot give us what we have not earned or are ready for.  I noticed about ten years ago that there seemed to be so many new mediums popping out of everywhere and setting up shop.  The success of John Edward’s mediumship programs on mainstream television contributed largely to this.  Around this time I was holding several development classes a week in Massachusetts with new people attending whenever I would start a new series.  Two young ladies showed up at an open group that I was conducting.  Neither had attended a development circle before and both expressed how interested they were in continuing to participate in my training programs.  I cannot say that either of them was any more talented than the average novice entering a development circle for the first time.  A week later, one of the sisters phoned me to ask about attending the class again as she had such a wonderful experience. Unfortunately she never showed up and none of my calls to her were returned.  About a month later I discovered an advertisement in the back of a regional new age publication.  Communicate with your deceased loved ones the copy read with the name, contact details along with an attractive photo of the sister, who had phoned me, prominently displayed.

A few months later I headlined a program in Manhattan that featured a panel of psychics and mediums from the surrounding area of New York and New Jersey.  One of the local mediums introduced herself to me and mentioned that she had studied with a friend of mine, a well known British medium.  Later I read a flier advertising her services that mentioned as part of her bio how as part of her training she has attended an 8 hour John Edward seminar and had read people for five hours while waiting in line.

If I were to read a manual on dentistry would you want me operating your teeth?  I am sure that with some pliers or other tools I could extract teeth but would I be qualified to extract teeth?  The fact that someone is open to the spirit world does not mean that they are ready or qualified to function as a medium.  Even with someone who is naturally open to the spirit world, proper education and training are important.  A medium must not only achieve a high standard in their ability to bring through accurate information, but they must also be trained in the ethics of working with others within the context of mediumship.  This does not happen overnight.

Although people want mediumship instantly, they will achieve very little if they have not spiritually and emotionally worked on themselves.  Quality mediumship cannot be purchased for any price, but must be earned through dedication and devotion to serving God and helping those in need.  Mediumship is extremely beneficial.  While sincerity is important, quality is what is most important.  Programs like Long Island Medium are good in that they introduce the reality of spirit communication to a mainstream audience.  They are bad in that they portray mediumship in a sensationalistic and distorted manner.  I generally try to avoid microwaveable meals as the heating process destroys the life energy within the food.  Although an instant medium may at times deliver accurate information, I would personally prefer to consult a medium possessing a high standard of training in the process as well as ethics.  As a medium I want to expand and improve as an instrument for the spirit world.  I hope that people reading this blog will also strive to improve their connection with the spirit world and not allow themselves to become stagnant with their development.

Divine Messengers of the Holy Spirit

Feb 102013
 
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Rev. Steve Hermann MediumAs I write this I am in the Philippines teaching mediumship and healing.  Spiritism is massive in the Philippines with about 2000 Spiritist centers around the country, at least half of them affiliated with the Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas.  Established in 1905 the founders of the Union were greatly influenced by the writings of the French Spiritualist Allan Kardec.   Presently there is much debate in the Union over the correct approach to mediumship development between the many members heavily influenced by mainstream Christian doctrine and orthodox ritual and the more scientifically oriented, adherents of Kardec’s writings.  The Spiritists within the Union who are largely Christian oriented believe that mediumship is a gift of the Holy Spirit and as a result mediumistic development does not require education or training.  The Mediums Book and other works by Kardec played an important role in the approach of the founders of the organization.  Kardec was an intellectual and an educator who like other of the pioneers of the Spiritualist movement emphasized learning and scientific inquiry in regards to the practice and study of psychic phenomena and mediumship. A problem that arises within the Union concerning the practice of mediumship is that mediums tend to be placed on a pedestal by many Spiritists, who do not question their ability as mediums or the communications purported to originate from higher spirit teachers using the vocal chords of an entranced medium to speak.  This is largely due to an overall lack of formal training in the mechanics of mediumship along with the common belief that the individuals chosen by the Holy Spirit to function as mediums are infallible.  Many of the Union mediums claim to receive messages from spirit teachers who are Biblical personalities, Christian Saints and Archangels.  Instead of questioning the identities and the messages being delivered many within the Union blindly accept what is given as being authentic without testing the medium and the message and validating the information that has been presented. At one of the centers located in a remote providence in the northern region, there is one official medium who regularly delivers messages at the meetings held several times a week.  A friend of mine who is a member at this center mentioned to me the great inconsistency in the messages given by this medium.  In one message the communicating spirit will repeat several times that they are the Lord coming through and need to be listened to and followed.  Then in the next sentence the same personality will say that they have been sent by God.   My friend is not sure what to say as there is no time allocated within the period of the trance address to ask questions of the communicator.  Are you God or are you are messenger of God? Or better yet:  Please give me some evidence of  your identity?  If the phone rang and a female voice on the other end claimed to be Barrack Obama calling, I would most likely doubt that the President of the United States of America was calling me.  But like Kardec and other early pioneers within the Spiritualist movement, I would want verification of the identity of the alleged spirit communicator even if the voice of the caller sounded like Obama.  What is sad in the situation commonly found with the Filipino mediums is that they can claim to channel any personality they chose and say practically anything without being challenged.   Unlike the National Spiritualist Association of Churches in the USA, the Spiritualist National Union in the United Kingdom and other groups that have formal educational standards and examinations for mediumship, there is no standardized training offered or required for the Filipino mediums to operate.  Although fraud and delusion have always been a problem when it comes to psychic phenomena regardless of the geographical location,  the lack of higher educational standards within the Filipino Spiritist movement creates an environment where mediums can get away with claiming practically anything without being held accountable.   P. T. Barnum was correct when he stated that a sucker was born every minute.  Gullibility and a lack of rational thinking have always rightfully been condemned by genuine spirit teaching communicating through mediums.  At practically every trance session that I have attended, or conducted as a medium, the spirit communicators have encouraged those listening to participate by asking intelligent questions about their identity as well as philosophical. Authentic spirit communicators from a higher level do not beat around the bush or give unreliable messages nor do they attempt to impress their audience with important sounding names.  This is a basic concept generally emphasized in any development circle for beginners.   As far as I am concerned mediumship is a science and should be approached as such.  Is mediumship a gift?  Yes it is, the same way that artistic or musical talent is a gift that may be greatly enhanced through practice and education.  The idea that mediumship does not require education and that mediums only need to rely on the direct influence of spirit teachers is not unique to the Spiritists in the Philippines.  This misconception has been around since the beginning of the Spiritualist movement and continues largely due to the laziness of the part of mediums who want to do the work without improving their abilities as mediums.  An educated mind is ideal for the spirit teachers to work with.  Ignorant mediums with a weak connection greatly restrict what the spirit personalities may express through them.  Mediums must do their part and meet the spirit world at least half way.  Physical, emotional and mental health are essential for mediumship development.   It is not enough to reach a certain level as a medium and then slack off and stop training. Regardless of how long someone has been involved in practicing mediumship there is always room for improvement.   Sitting in circle for development, daily personal prayer and meditation along with continuing education are mandatory for the serious student of mediumship.   A well known British medium I know is friends with several popular Television mediums.  He told me that one of the famous TV mediums suggested to him that he should never been seen by anyone attending other mediums workshops as it would give the impression that he was not the best and needed to learn from others.  While this may be true I think that the more training and ideas that one gets in regards to mediumship, the better. Sadly my friend listened to him and as a result never does any continuing education or training with other mediums. I love teaching in the Philippines as there are so many people sincerely interested in developing their mediumship.  While I cannot change the mentality of those who deliberately avoid continuing education, I will continue to encourage those at my programs to constantly strive for higher levels of perfection with their mediumship.  Kardec’s approach to investigating the practice of spirit communication was in accordance with the scientific laws that govern the mechanics of mediumship.  The founders of the Filipino Spiritist movement were highly educated and well cultured as individuals and would not appreciate the lack of education currently found within the organization.  Unfortunately if they were physically present, their ideas would likely be disregarded by many of those currently involved in the movement.   The philosophy of Spiritualism/Spiritism teaches progression in all areas of life.  Greater education expands the mind and improves the intellect.  A mind with substance within it is a better mind for the spirit teachers to influence and work through.  A medium with training, discipline, and understanding of the process will also always be a more effective instrument.