Psychic News The independent voice of Spiritualism

December 2014

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How Nicky Alan (pictured right), a world-renowned medium who starred alongside Gloria Hunniford in the Sky TV series Angels, has dealt with the ongoing ordeal of suffering from the serious and debilitating condition Fibromyalgia.

Nicky Alan, a vibrant bundle of energy with a personality to match, was struck down with Fibromyalgia after a road accident in January 2012.

Fibromyalgia (CFS/ME – Chronic Fatigue syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a chronic condition characterised by widespread pain and profound fatigue. The sufferer experiences aching or burning sensations, often from head to toe. It varies from day to day in its level of pain and may also change location, often becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used most in everyday life, such as the hands.

I met up with Nicky and she revealed to me how her spiritual beliefs and mediumship were tested during this trying time...

 
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November 2014

 
It’s usually mistaken for graphology, which itself is regarded as a pseudo-science, sometimes used by the police to ascertain whether or not an individual has perpetrated a fraudulent act by forging somebody’s signature.

A PHA is a process of gleaning information about a person’s true nature – their dreams, aspirations and endeavours, as well as their spiritual and psychic potential. As with all divinatory methods it can also be used to glimpse the person’s future and is a sort of database of information about the writer. It cannot, however, predict a person’s death or the winning lottery numbers (I wish!) although I do occasionally give a person’s lucky numbers...

 
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He told Phillip Schofield and Amanda Holden about the leaflets he was distributing outside the theatre.

“The leaflet really talks about some methods people can use to appear to be psychic,” he said. “Some claim to be genuinely psychic, but there are methods some can use to appear to be doing this.

“Even if they are not really speaking to the dead, it can appear that they are. I want people to look at the things they are being told, and work out if what they are hearing is real.”

Asked if he thinks psychic ability is real, he replied: “I don’t rule it out, but I don’t personally believe that is the case. I’ve not seen any evidence that someone is able to speak to the dead.”

Is Mark doing any harm? In the discussion which followed, Spiritualist medium Colin Fry, famous for his numerous TV appearances, refused to be ruffled. He explained that his work helps people and gives them hope...

 
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October 2014

Sunday 24th August was an exception. I was in Stourbridge Spiritualist Church attending a service conducted by the medium Darren Brittain. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him work, but – hardened, cynical journalist though I almost certainly am – I’d never knowingly pass up an opportunity to watch this exceptional medium at work.

Not for him a few hit-and-miss names randomly thrown out in the hope that some obliging soul with a kind heart will accept them. Detail is Darren’s middle name.

Not just a thorough physical description of the father communicating, not just his name, personality traits, occupation, age, manner of passing, favourite food, location of work premises, but the number of the bus in which he travelled to work each day. It blew the recipient’s mind, as did every other message delivered to members of the 120-strong congregation at the service.

Darren’s mediumship didn’t manifest in the kindergarten, unlike some. Now 40, he was 17 when he first entered a Spiritualist church in an attempt to discover what was causing him to see “lights and colours” around people. It had been happening for a few years and he wanted to know why. The medium told him he was psychic, and would soon be doing what she was doing. He wasn’t inclined to believe her . . .

 
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Diane Perry (born 1943) was brought up above a fish shop in Bethnal Green, London. Her father died when she was young. Her mother was a Spiritualist who hosted a weekly home circle on Wednesdays, where there were powerful table movements and communications.

 
Diane later recalled: “I gained a lot from those experiences. There is no way now that anyone could tell me that consciousness does not exist after death because I have so much proof again and again that it does. It’s not a belief, it’s a knowledge, a certainty.”

As her biographer noted – “It was her house, she knew there were no trapdoors and no one was being paid.”

“We used to sit round this huge mahogany table with legs the size of tree trunks which had come from some grand house and one of the neighbours who was a medium would go into trance and get messages from the spirit guides,” Diane remembered.

“I remember one night my mother made some joke about the spirits not being very strong and they took up the challenge. They asked the greengrocer, a woman of about 18 stone, to sit on top of the table then they lifted the whole thing up, this huge heavy piece of furniture, and it sailed around the room with the greengrocer perched on top. We all had to run into the corners to get out of the way.”

 
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September 2014

 
You may not have heard of the J.V. Trust, but you’ll almost certainly have heard of the Arthur Findlay College, Stansted Hall. You may even have studied there, or know someone who has. To many around the world it’s the foremost centre of learning for Spiritualism and psychic science – a mecca for students of mediumship and the spiritual life.

	Eric Hatton, chairman of the J.V. Trust and former chairman of the Arthur Findlay College.

What you may not know is that this former home of the great Spiritualist ambassador James Arthur Findlay, gifted to the Spiritualists’ National Union on his passing in 1964, has faced the prospect of closure at least two or three times since its establishment as the AFC. The fact that it’s still open for business and in pretty good shape is in large part down to the generosity of the J.V. Trust.

The trust’s founders, Roy and Christine Wandless, had great affection for the college and are no doubt delighted that their personal generosity has enabled such a unique institution to be rescued in hard times. Though wealthy, they certainly knew hard times themselves.

“Roy and Christine had lost two children, John and Valerie, from cystic fibrosis, and wanted to set up a charity in their memory,” explains the trust’s long-time chairman Eric Hatton. “So the name derives from ‘J’ for John and ‘V’ for Valerie...
 
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Regression is a process to help you access past-life memories, to help you see them for yourself. It’s not about being told who, what or where you were, but for you to experience that. 

What drew you to practising regression?  Are you aware that you’ve had a past life or lives? 

I studied the Mystical Qabalah formally for many years, and it was during that time that I became interested in the concept, as some of my past lives were making themselves known. I’m aware of many past lives; it’s important for therapists to experience what they teach or use in their work.

Are some clients already aware, before they approach you, of what appear to be scraps of memory not consistent with their current lives? What other reasons do clients give for wanting to be regressed?

There are lots of reasons why people come for a past-life regression. It might be as part of their ongoing spiritual adventure and road to discovery. Sometimes people want to know why a recurring dream is making its way through more than others. Often people have a spontaneous past-life memory – they just ‘know’ they have lived in a place, an era, or with someone else, before.

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August 2014

One day in February 2006, a woman who had endured the ravages of cancer for four years was rushed to hospital as her vital organs began to shut down. She weighed next to nothing and was in dreadful pain. Her husband and mother were with her as she was transferred to Intensive Care, and doctors told them she had just hours to live.

Anita Moorjani soon drifted into a coma and was no longer able to communicate with her family or medical staff. She was unconscious and about to pass. Yet, even as her brother flew halfway around the world to say a last goodbye to her, she was aware of everything that was happening.

In her moving book Dying to be Me, she describes in great detail things she couldn’t possibly have known by physical means, such as conversations between medical staff and her loved ones, away from her bedside. This made me wonder if she was simultaneously aware that there was no way she could know these things in earthly terms, or if that realisation came to her only after she returned to physical consciousness...
 
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	Medium Gordon Smith

Take part in the Psychic News art competition for a chance to win a Psychic Cruise for four days (three nights) for two people leaving from Southampton on 23rd April 2015 and visiting Le Havre and Bruges.

All you need to do is enter an original piece of your own artwork with a spiritual theme. It can be a painting, drawing, photograph, encaustic art or whatever you can think of or be inspired to work on or with. Your artwork can be any size but must fit into an A4-size envelope. Please also send no more than 200 words describing your work or the inspiration behind it.

The first prize is one cabin for two sharing on the Psychic Cruise from 23rd to 26th April 2015 (worth £798) and includes all meals, shows, workshops, and a meet and greet. The prize is generously being offered by Cruise Focus, who describe it as “a cruise into your mind and spirit.

“With keynote talks, workshops and presentations from Gordon Smith and our handpicked psychic experts you will benefit from a truly unique and exciting ‘spiritual’ experience. Featuring keynote evening demonstrations from Gordon Smith – this incredible cruise will enable you to make your own spiritual journey with us."

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July 2014

The Centre houses some 40 examples of works by Evelyn De Morgan, and fine specimens of her husband’s pottery and tiles. The paintings are highly distinctive and evocative, involving rich use of colours and exploring spiritual, mystical and mythological themes, inspired by the couple’s deep Spiritualist faith. Unfortunately, the decision to relocate the Wandsworth Museum has resulted in a notice to leave being served upon the Centre and it will be closing its doors on 28th June, forcing another hunt for a “location with good amenities and footfall”. The Centre previously had to close to the public for two years in 2009, following the foreclosure of an earlier lease by Wandsworth Council...

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Some people express surprise when I tell them that many churches are reputed to be haunted. But why shouldn’t this be so? These buildings were at the heart of the communities for centuries, bearing silent witness as countless souls attended services such as baptisms, weddings and funerals.

It’s only natural to expect that the intense emotions associated with these events will echo down the centuries, later to be picked up by those sensitive enough to see and hear psychic phenomena.

One of the most intriguing haunted churches in Britain can be found on Garlick Hill in the heart of old London. It’s known as St James Garlickhythe (Garlickhythe refers to the nearby landing place, or hythe, near where garlic was sold in medieval times) and can trace its origins back to the 12th century.

The church was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and was rebuilt by the legendary Sir Christopher Wren, achitect of St Paul’s Cathedral, between 1676 and 1682. It was later nicknamed ‘Wren’s Lantern’ due to its profusion of windows.

In 1855, a mummified male corpse was found in the chancel and was placed on display in a glass-panelled coffin for the curious to view – upon payment of a small fee!
 
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June 2014

In an email on 29th April, David Cordery, of Max Communications (MC), wrote:

“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to quote for digitising and processing your magazine archive. Unfortunately, I have to say that a number of people here are struggling with the subject area you cover and as such I feel we will not be providing a costing and will pass up the opportunity.”

The astonishing decision was all the more inexplicable, given that it came after discussions with the Kent-based firm had reached an advanced stage and had included a visit to our Hertfordshire office.

Baffled, and with a growing suspicion that religious prejudice might have played a part in this sudden turn of events, we wrote to David Cordery asking on what basis his staff were “struggling”.

We pointed out that “the job of archiving should not require the archiver to believe in or accept the material that is being scanned and preserved for posterity, and if you allow people you employ to let their own views influence the work you do, that raises serious doubts about Max Communications’ professional standards...

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In a nutshell – Morgan. I adopted my first dog, a pure-bred mutt of questionable beagle heritage, in 2004. Little did I know then what a huge impact he’d have on my life.

At the time I was working in London’s West End on a play called The Old Masters. Morgan came into my life and after the initial settling-in period all rescued animals need, I became aware that his sadness was not going away. I thought it was something I’d been doing wrong, having been a cat person all my life.

When the Mayhew Animal Home, where I’d adopted him from, emailed an invitation to an animal communication workshop, I knew I had to go. I thought it was the latest way of reading an animal’s body language.

Twenty people sat in a circle as the teacher told us how we could all learn to talk to animals. Nineteen were crying as they listened to the stories, and then there was me. I was full of disbelief and sat with my arms and legs crossed, and probably a scowl on my face. I didn’t believe a word of it.

Despite challenging the teacher in the break, I decided to stay, and in the afternoon we were partnered up and asked to communicate with each other’s animal just from their photo. I thought it was crazy. My internal dialogue was along the lines of, ‘You’re just a rabbit. Not even a real rabbit, you’re just a photo of a rabbit and you can’t hear me, can you?!’ Then in my mind I heard the reply, ‘Who the hell do you think is listening to you?’
 
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May 2014

David Hamilton is a one-off.

He has a first class honours degree in chemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry. He worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry, developing drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer.

But here’s the one-off bit: he’s also a bestselling author for the world’s most respected spiritual and metaphysical publisher, Hay House, and an inspirational speaker in huge demand for talks and workshops that, in his own words, “use science to inspire”.

So how did this unique fusion of science and spirituality, subjects so often seen as polar opposites and mutually exclusive, come about?

“I worked for a big company called AstraZeneca, and basically my career was sticking atoms together to make molecules,” David explains. “But what interested me more than making the medicines was what happened when we tested them.

“You get a hundred patients with a drug and a hundred with a fake drug – a placebo. What amazed me is when you might get 75 per cent of people improving on the drug, it’s not uncommon to get 50 to 74 per cent improving on a placebo. And that for me was compelling...

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In March this year I was a student at the Arthur Findlay College (AFC), Stansted, on the Reach for the Stars course.

On 18th March that week we were very fortunate to be invited to attend a séance given by physical medium Scott Milligan.

Careful controls were put in place to ensure the integrity of the proceedings. Two independent people checked the equipment (musical instruments, toys, furniture) and the room beforehand. Everyone was searched as they entered the room. The medium himself was searched and checked, as was the chair in which he would sit. He was then secured to that chair by heavy-duty plastic cable ties.

The feeling inside the room was electric and very happy, with lots of spirit energy and lots of singing! The room was in darkness and all participants held hands. The spirit child Daniel and the small spirit girl he jolkngly calls “Scruffbag” were full of fun – touching people, throwing toys. I felt hands touch me many times, on my legs and my head.

Then Daniel said he was going to bring a spirit person through for someone. The name George was given, along with information that the man could crack walnuts with his bare hands. It was also said that the wrong diagnosis had been given for the illness which affected two parts of his body...

April 2014

I shouldn’t really be writing about auras. I can’t

see them. I wish I could, but it hasn’t happened yet.

 
Good reason, then, to call in an expert. Edinburgh-based medium Thelma Francis is an acknowledged expert on all things auric. She believes there are a fair few misconceptions around the subject, including what an aura actually is. I asked for her personal definition:

“It’s the electromagnetic energy field around your body. It belongs to you; it’s every bit as much a part of you as any other organ in your body. You can’t detach it – it’s all of you.”

She goes on to describe a situation we encounter pretty much every day: “Somebody walks into your space and you know almost immediately if you want them there, or if you don’t.”

This, says Thelma, is because it’s we who are extending our energy, or retracting it.

“We do it unconsciously. But when you’re aware of your auric energy, when you’re aware of the whole of you, you can actually control it, you can extend or retract it at will.  But it’s usually something we do automatically, until we actually think about it and break it down, then realise what we’re doing.” 

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The world’s population is currently estimated at over seven billion. Each day, tens of thousands of people will die and tens of thousands will be born.

Every minute of every day, news comes to us instantly through TV, radio, Internet and newspapers, and we are bombarded by national and international events, both tragic and uplifiting, on a constantly rolling basis.

The saying “Things happen for a reason” is well known, and as human beings we do like to have our reasons. Our logical method of thinking requires us to find rational explanations for the things that happen in our own lives and in the world we inhabit.

We make decisions all the time, and use our emotions in many of them, but ultimately it’s logic we use to justify those decisions to ourselves and others – reason.

In this world, we’re faced with disasters both human-made and natural. We look at the current freak weather systems occurring throughout the world and we need to find a reason their happening. We hear reports from scientists and weather experts who speak about how the jet stream has shifted, how global warming has done this or that, but on the whole we’re glad that someone is coming up with a reason...

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March 2014

For the past century, International Women’s Day has been held on 8th March. It’s a day when women celebrate their skills and achievements, and bring the plight of disadvantaged women to public attention.

Fifty per cent of the world’s six billion people are female, and many suffer from inequalities of opportunity, healthcare and education. Justice, compassion and prosperity are not just political issues. They are spiritual issues that both men and women must address until there is fairness for everyone.

Whether suffering is the result of forced marriage (often at a very young age), female genital mutilation, forced prostitution or other appalling oppressions, the lives of women in many countries can be a painful lifelong struggle...

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He ultimately arrived in a vast hall where all manner of interesting activities were taking place – even the rehearsing of a Shakespeare play.

That is just one imaginary journey into Eternity. There are other fanciful accounts, but it seems the real thing may be quite different, as we’re told by countless people who have ‘been there’ and returned...

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February 2014

January 2014