THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES ON WHICH  MODERN SPIRITUALISM IS BASED

1. The Parentage of God

2. The Siblinghood of Humankind

3. The Communication of Spirits and the Ministration of Angels

4. The continuous existence of every spirit/soul.

5.  Responsibility of the individual.

6. Compensation and Retribution for good and evil deeds done by us all.

7. Eternal progress open to every Soul.

1. THE ‘PARENTAGE’ OF GOD.

The universe is extremely complex, both in physical and spiritual terms. Not only is there the known universe that scientists can prove, but there are the astral planes and all other worlds. This could not have come about by chance. A supreme plan is in existence of which we know so little, a plan must have been orchestrated by some supreme being - not an old man with white hair sitting on a throne, but a vibrant intelligence and energy which we cannot possibly comprehend.

Each of us has his or her own idea of God. To some, he is an austere personality instilling fear in his believers and meting out wrathful judgment to wrong doers, seated on a throne in heaven. To others he is a benign Father, caring for his vast family of every colour and creed and personified in everything that is beautiful around us. The latter is the broad Spiritualist viewpoint as envisaging the one supreme power.

We regard him as the author of a divine plan, the natural law through which the universe which he created is governed and based on love, not fear. He is the controlling force of all and "the Greatest Central source of all life and love " as Andrew Jackson Davis, another of our pioneers proclaimed. When we transgress these laws we are betraying a trust for which we shall have to pay, either here, or in the hereafter. Our relationship with God is therefore determined by our obedience to these laws.

2. THE ‘SIBLINGHOOD’ OF MANKIND.

We are all equal because we are all children of the one supreme God and therefore brothers and sisters (sibling). But though equal we are also unequal. There is a great inequality of wealth and prosperity, a great inequality of physical abilities and strengths and also a great inequality of spiritual awareness and advancement. However, it is the soul that is equal to every other soul - albeit at different stages of development. In the ultimate stage all will be level because perfection is a definitive thing, and perfection is God Supreme.

If we accept the fatherhood of God then it naturally follows that we are his children, brothers and sisters in one family of all race and colour. This confers upon us a dual responsibility - to our father and to each other, which we can sum up in one word - SERVICE. The inequalities of modern society, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong, the wise and the ignorant, provide an incentive for love and service. In our daily lives we meet those who need material help, to whom a kind word or small act may work wonders.

If we would extend this call to service beyond the confines of our family, our town, our country, out in the wide world, pain and suffering, tumult and wars would cease and would bring into being “that peace which passes all understanding.‿

It goes farther than that. The real meaning of our existence is not only our obligation to our fellow men. Man being himself a spirit here on earth, is immortal and the brotherhood of man is extended into the spirit spheres. Spiritualism therefore gives a new and higher meaning to our mutual interdependence and to brotherhood.

3. THE COMMUNICATION OF SPIRITS AND THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS.

The ‘communication of spirits’ with humans occurs not only in the public performance of a medium on the platform, but also happens in everyday life by the intuition we receive, the presence we feels, the thoughts inter- linked between the two worlds and also by astral travelling in both the physical and the spirit world during dream or trance states. The ‘ministry of angels’ consist of helpers from the spirit world who we might regard as guardian angels, guides and helpers. They provide mediums with the powers of healing, inspirational writing, trance, etc, but also work with everyone else by the communion of spirits’.

This is the key around which our whole philosophy turns. Orthodoxy denies the reality of communion with departed spirits, whereas for the past one hundred and fifty years we have proved conclusively that man not only survives physical death but is able, through mediums, to commune with those left behind. Not only that, they spend quite a lot of their time giving us help and guidance in various ways with our earthly problems.

There are certain persons among us who are called mediums who are so highly sensitive to ‘spirit vibrations’ and they are able to establish contact with those who have passed over and wish to communicate with us. Each one of us has a spirit guide or helper who uses the medium as an instrument through whom he can talk.

We are thus able to learn how our loved ones are faring in their new environment and in their new way of life. This proof of survival is of great help to those who are bereaved.

4. THE CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE OF ALL SPIRITS/SOULS.

Our existence is eternal. We always have been, we are now, and always will be. in whatever form or plane our spirit or soul is in. Most religions believe this but the Spiritualist religion explains it more simply and more correctly. For example, the soul does not lie with the body until the trumpet call on judgement day, it moves instantly at the moment of physical death into another world, to another plane, to another challenge.

This is a corollary of the previous principle and serves to accentuate how much our spiritualist philosophy is so diametrically opposed to the materialist conception of life.

All the great religions of the world subscribe to some form of life after death in some nebulous heavenly existence. Spiritualism on the other hand does prove this fact in no uncertain manner and in so doing has profoundly revolutionised our lives in that our behaviour is not encompassed within the narrow limits of our earthly lives, but extends into eternity. Our mode of living here will determine our spiritual plane of existence in the life to come.

5. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

Every action we take, every thought we think, and every word we speak is our responsibility. We can never blame anybody else for our errors or give credit to others for our successes. The mind is responsible for its own actions. To illustrate, two persons could be in exactly the same situation but react differently - one may be highly stressed, the other may calmly handle the situation. Since each responds in a different way to the same situation, then it is their state of mind which is different, and therefore they are personally responsible for their own thoughts and actions.

This is the major difference between Spiritualism and orthodox religions. The basis of the Christian doctrinal religion rests on the belief that the only way to enlightenment is through Jesus, who died on a cross to save us from our sins. We most strongly repudiate this.

Spiritualism asserts that no one can save us from our wrong doing but ourselves. Man, through his conscience, knows the difference between right and wrong and is given free will to choose which road he will take. No one, be he religious or an atheist can escape the consequences of his own actions. God does not sit in judgement over us; we will be our own judges in the spirit world.

What the church calls sin we regard as the violation of the divine natural laws made by God, which Paul interpreted when he wrote that what ever a man sows, that  shall s/he reap. Man alone has to atone for his sins and cannot shirk his responsibilities.

6. COMPENSATION AND RETRIBUTION FOR GOOD AND EVIL DEEDS DONE BY US ALL.

In the infinite and unending existence of the soul, the law of karma has to be worked out. Every evil deed, thought and word has to be paid for, but we are our own judges and on our return to the spirit world we shall see for ourselves what recompense must be made.

This follows on from the last principle. Heaven and hell are states of mind of our own creation and not celestial localities. Our code of life on this earth will determine our destination in the world of spirit.

It is equally wrong to think that because one attends church regularly, or performs evangelical or other ‘good works’ one will automatically be given pride of place in the hereafter. It will be our everyday deeds and the motive for them that will count and how well we have carried out the precept in other words …do unto others... Death does not make us particularly spiritually aware. The understanding of Spiritualism actually helps at the transition, so promoting this knowledge is of benefit to all.

7. ETERNAL PROGRESS OPEN TO EVERY SOUL.

To follow on from the previous principle [6] nothing is lost or irredeemable. We can progress to higher and higher planes of development when we have learned our lessons and repaid our dues. We can climb to unbelievable heights.

To understand this progress and what life and spiritual eternity is all about, imagine the whole complex as a giant pyramid of infinite size. The pyramid is God. The pinnacle is the Godhead, the Supreme Being. The pyramid has no base but extends downwards from the Godhead for ever, The stones are not solid, but fluid, each stone of the pyramid is a soul, all part of God and all important to the whole, therefore the lower layers are as important as the top. There are countless positions within the pyramid and each again is as important as the other.

The idea of eternal progress may seem hard for us to understand in this world where time is counted to allow for the depreciation of the body, but in the world to come, where there are neither clocks nor calendars, time is literally immaterial. Spiritualism points to the certainty of eternal progress, but the rate of our own particular advancement will depend upon ones desire to do so, remembering that we shall have free will as we have here.

We shall by no means be idle in the spirit world, in fact, we shall be extremely busy pursuing those paths which will lead us toward perfection - and we do have eternity in which to do it!

The transition from our earthly world to our new existence in the higher life does not alter our present character. We shall be just the same as we were before the passing, retaining our free will to fashion our new life with the sure knowledge that we shall be given the opportunity to make spiritual progress with no limit to time or the heights we can reach. Once again, we come face to face with our personal responsibility even on the other side.