New age: Details about 'Spiritualist Church'
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The Spiritualist Church arose from the Spiritualist movement which began in the 1840s in America. Spiritualist Churches are found around the world, but are more common in English-speaking countries. In North America the churches are primarily affiliated with the National Association of Spiritualist Churches. In 1853 the first Spiritualist Church in the British Isles was established by David Richmond at Keighley in Yorkshire. In 1855 the first Spiritualist newspaper in Britain, The Yorkshire Spiritual Telegraph, was published, and by the 1870s there were numerous Spiritualist societies and churches throughout the US and Britain. Today, Spiritualist Churches in the British Isles and former British colonies are primarily affiliated with the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain.
Styles of WorshipSpiritualist churches are places of worship for the practitioners of Spiritualism. The Spiritualist service is usually conducted by a medium. There is an opening prayer, an address, hymns and finally a demonstration of mediumship. Through engaging their intuition, they attempt to contact with the spirits of the dead. This is known as opening up. Spirtualists believe that we all die physically; and that some aspect of the personality or mind survives this and continues to exist on a spirit plane. Spiritualists use the word Spirit as a plural which describes all minds and entities who have entered into the spirit world. The purpose of the medium is to provide some evidence that a human has survived by describing the person to their surviving relatives. The degree of accuracy with which the deceased are described goes some way to convincing the living relatives and friends that the medium has some contact with the spirit. Spiritualists describe this as Survival Evidence. Spiritualist Healing is a form of mediumship which involves a technique of directing healing energy to the patient from a higher source. The healer uses his or her hands to affect repair of damaged or diseased tissue. All or part of the patient's good health is sometimes restored. There have been a number of outstanding and famous practitioners of spirit communication connected to Spiritualist churches. One of the principal advocates of Spiritualism was the 20th century British writer Arthur Findlay. Findlay was a magistrate, farmer and businessman who left his mansion house as place for the study and advancement of Spiritualism.This has now become a psychic college in Standsted, England. Mediums develop their ability by sitting regularly in development circles with other student psychics. Meditation usually plays a large role in Spiritualist practice. Meditation is used to calm the "voices" of modern, hectic life so that the practitioner can better hear his or her guide. Meditation often includes the breathing practices of Buddist meditation (ānāpānasati) and may also include the idea of chakras. The Spiritualist may also focus on the tenets of their chosen religion to help them attain a higher existence. These may include standard prayers (Hail Mary, Shema Yisrael or Salah etc.), focusing on the name of God (Jesus, YHWH or Allah etc.) or other aspects of a holy nature. Like most meditation techniques, imaging (intensely imagining a place or situation) is common. There are specific imagings used to "meet" one's guide, connect with those who have died, receive protection or support from God or simply calming the mind. Many Spiritualists draw inspiration from other religious traditions, most notably Christianity, but also from faiths with a deep mystical tradition such as Sufism, the Kabbalah, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Some Spiritualists believe in the idea of the universe as the creator, and don't necessarily follow any specific religion. Spiritualist CreedsThe Spiritual Church accepts the Seven Principles of Spiritualism, of which principles, full individual liberty of interpretation is reserved to each member:
A long-used Spiritualist Creed, drawn from the writings of clairvoyant Bishop Charles W. Leadbeater, is:
References
See also
Spiritualismus ספיריטואליזם 心霊主義 Spiritisme Spirytualizm Espiritualismo
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