Spiritualism is a way of life. It combines philosophy, science, and religion.
Spiritualists agree on seven principles:
The primary objective of Spiritualism today is to prove the survival of the human personality after death. Death is the doorway to a new and wider life. From the day of our birth we each have two bodies, the material or earthly one which can be seen, and the spiritual one which is unseen during life but is a counterpart of our earthly organism. These two bodies are linked by a cord of energy. In similar fashion, before birth a baby is joined to its mother by an umbilical cord. When it is born the cord must be cut.
When our physical body dies, the cord linking our two bodies is severed. The material body returns to the earth whence it came, and the spiritual one becomes the vehicle of our spirit. Death, as a rule, seems like sleep; there is no pain. When we awaken after death conditions seem much the same to us. We take with us into the other dimension no material possessions such as clothes or money as they are no longer needed. What we do take is our character and our individuality. In every way we are the same individuals immediately after death as before, with all our faults and virtues.
The home that awaits us in the spirit world depends on the life we have led on earth. If we honestly tried to do the best we could, we have fitted ourselves for a life which will reflect that. If, on the other hand, there has been more selfishness than goodness and service in our lives we will automatically be living a life which reflects that. This is part of the law of reaping what we sow. This is our fifth Principle, which says we are personally responsible for all our thoughts, words and actions.
Acts of service that we perform will naturally increase our spiritual status. Sins of omission will just as naturally retard it. There is, however, no hell in which inhabitants are condemned for eternity. Once self-realization dawns and the souls are ready to advance, there are enlightened spiritual beings that will show the way to progress.
The practical application of Spiritualism is for all of us to lead the best kind of life we can on earth, to practice qualities of compassion and kindness and to give service wherever we can.
The world we inhabit after death is not far away up in the sky. It is around and about us, interpenetrating the world in which we now live. Those we have loved and lost are not in some far-off inaccessible place, seated on pink clouds at the right hand of God and playing golden harps. Very often they are close to us, by our side, striving to help and guide us and loving us just as they did before passing.
God (Infinite Spirit) is not a person but the creative universal spirit that exists everywhere. Wherever there is life there is spirit; and wherever there is spirit there is life. We exist because a spark of divinity is within each of us. This is the divine relationship in which God is our “father/mother” and we are all the Creator’s children.
We can, by the way we live our lives, fan the spark of divinity into a flame so that a greater expression of divinity is made through us. The result will be to sustain, uplift and help us in our spiritual development and help the world as a result.
There are many excellent books and websites on this topic, to aid you in your search for understanding.
We prove life beyond death through Mediumship. There are many spheres of existence that are invisible to us. Millions of vibrations of sound and sight are lost to us because they are outside the range of our hearing and vision. Television and radio receivers can detect many sounds and sights and bring them into our awareness.<.p>
There are highly sensitive individuals who have developed their innate natural psychic faculties and can tune into the spirit world and those who live there. Mediums are similar to TV and radio receivers when they are channeling messages from the spirit world.
What makes Spiritualism unique is the evidence of survival after death that is obtainable through mediumship. Whereas most religions preach an after-life as a hope, faith or belief, we maintain that reasonable people can prove it for themselves.
When mediums are giving a reading they provide a detailed description of the person in spirit, as well as specific memories that may be known only to you. They do this so that you may know without a doubt who is communicating with you. Often the person in spirit will give you a message as well.
There is nothing supernatural about this happening, though it can be called supernormal. Everything in the universe acts in accordance with natural laws devised by Infinite Spirit.