This is a letter from Pam, who has just said she would like to share with us all these experiences.

Dear Stella,

As a total novice to spiritualism and having to learn as I go along, and in response to your article on the web site, I wondered if the attached might be of use to some of your members.  I've experienced a lot since February and much of it was not right for me.  I'm still learning but in my own way with the help of my spirit helpers and thought p'raps experiences from a total novice may help someone and reinforce your advice of 'Leave it to the experts'.

I also have some beautiful spirit writing, certainly not my own work, which I would like to pass on to others if you are interested.

Best regards, Pam

I became aware of ‘atmosphere’ and sensed ‘something there’ as I got older, but it was about 6/7 years ago that I started ‘seeing’ people when I was waking up, mostly at night but sometimes in the day.  I put this down to imagination. 

However, at one time over a period of about 10 days the experiences at night became more and more intrusive until I woke on a particular night to see someone standing over me saying “I can’t wake her up�?.  This frightened me enough but when I looked further across the room it was full of people standing about 3 deep.  I’m afraid I screamed and ran from the room.  Since then I’ve seen many people but nothing as scary as that experience.

 Last year during the Iraq war I was visited by three souls.  The first two were quite shadowy and kept away from the bed but I could feel rough blankets and sensed Iraq.  When the third soul arrived I was asleep and turned over to see him clearly right beside my bed.  He was wearing tropical clothes and he was furious. 

Because of seeing the previous two I wasn’t afraid and he stayed for a while therefore I could remember well what he looked like.  I will not write a description and cause concern to relatives who may read this.  That was when I felt certain what I had been seeing over the years was possibly the souls of the newly departed and realised that I was unable to help them because my initial reaction on seeing them was shock and fear.

I had no thoughts about spiritualism when I went to a clairvoyant/medium in January this year to ask for his help to explain what was happening to me and for help in what to do.  He told me that I appeared to have an open channel to me through which the spirits were travelling and that the spirits wanted to use me. 

I could stop what was happening or I could pursue it.  The latter would put me in control and if I didn’t take this path I would only have to do so in my next life.  He suggested the best course of action was to contact the Spiritualist church in order to join a closed circle.

I’ve never found a closed circle but I did join an awareness group which was totally the wrong thing for me to do as a novice as I was affected badly by other peoples’ pain, anger and frustration feeling all these thing physically myself (very frightening). 

For the last two months I have progressed without the need for an awareness group and with the protection of my ‘guides’ which is the most important thing because they stop me doing things which may be harmful to me although if it is a lesson I have to learn they will let me experience it and find out for myself that it is not right!

Recently I have managed to spend two hours with a wonderful medium, not a reading just asking her questions and in return she has put my mind at rest and shown me the way to go. 

Since promising the spirits that I would go with them as far as they want me to do, and asking them to take away the night visits, I have only experienced one visitation and of course as before I screamed but I hope the spirits took him to the light and will forgive me for my reaction.  After all, he was so ‘real’ and so close to my bed he may well have been a burglar, in which case it would not have been appropriate to say “Hi, what are you doing here�?

End.

Some comments - with my teachers hat on...

1.     There are several accounts of the night visitors from famous Mediums that have seen spirit from childhood; Pam is certainly not a novice in that regard!

2.     Shock and concern is normal for a child or young person who had not been brought up in the spiritualist teachings.

3.     She does not say over the years just how this manifestation in the night developed, and these kind of events do not usually begin until the opening of deliberate awareness; seeing and hearing in this way she describes is a gift many would give much for!

4.     The ‘putting it down to imagination’ is so common and the book on my list “The boy who saw true�? ISBN 0-85435-493 X  is a very nice account of that.

5.     It is common - this interruption in the wee small hours - when first learning to take control of the situation. It happened to me and I have had to give the following advice quite a few times in church clairvoyant meetings. i.e. “Tell your spirit door keeper to take control. He will tell spirits to be reasonable and come when you want them to – not any old time of the day or night!�? Failing that tell them yourself, “Go away, I’m trying to sleep!�?

6.     The Iraq kind of visitors are well documented in “Many Mansions�? by Air Chief Vice Marshall Lord Dowding. [Also on the book list] Because a war obviously takes many souls who are not expecting to pass through the veil, or are not prepared on what they will find when they get there!

7.     The most obvious thing to do is tell them what has happened, this is what Lord Dowding’s function was on many occasions.

8.     The medium who told Pam she had an ‘open channel’ was on the ball there, spirit was working to get her in the right place for advice. It’s a pity that she could not find the right circle; an open circle is not the place for this kind of specialised subject, for the reasons most obvious. The teacher needs to be experienced and the pupils need to be compatible. Most unfortunate that she again was put off in a frightening way. Bother!

9.     Guides and helpers are on ‘stand-by’ at all times and just waiting for us to ask them anything, so I know I drum on about this but TALK TO THEM!

10.  The two hours she recently spent with a medium are truly a blessing. We are here to help; readings are not always the only thing we do, teaching is also part of our ‘remit’.

11.  In the last paragraph Pam again screamed…oh dear … She did not have to bargain with her spirit friends, only ask.

12.  I can see that the thought of burglars might come into the mind, but were they so solid I wonder? …must ask about that…ummm

End.