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Sites and Newsletters for Those Interested in Spiritualism

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In January of this year, I gained another hat by becoming the editor of the NSAC News, the email newsletter for the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC). It has occurred to me that some Cyberweave readers may be interested in getting that newsletter. Each edition of the NSAC News includes a detailed Phenomenal Evidence Report by Revs. Tom and Lisa Butler, NST, a profile of a Pioneer of Modern Spiritualism, and an explanation of one of the Natural Laws. Most editions also include excerpts from the British publication, Psychic World: The Voice of Spiritualism.

The June issue, for example, included the following information from the Phenomenal Evidence Report on Materialization Photographs. The International Survivalist Society (ISS) has an excellent group of photographs on their web site (www.survivalafterdeath.org/photographs.htm). These include pictures of Katie King who materialized through the mediumship of Florence Cook, other materialization photographs, and many pictures of various ectoplasmic structures.

The pictures of King may stretch most people’s ability to believe. However, the experiments were held under strict test conditions imposed by Sir William Crookes, who recorded physical differences in complexion, hair coloring, height, heart-beat, blisters, skin type, face and finger sizes, plus manners and ways of expression between the materialized figure of Katie King and the medium, Florence Cook. All physical comparisons were different, proving they were two separate entities. Furthermore, Crookes would, on occasions, carry a florescent lamp with him into the cabinet and would often find the medium on the floor (in trance) and Katie King standing next to her. In other words, he would witness two different entities.

The May issue included an excerpt from an article by James Byrne that appeared in Psychic World. In the article, Byrne describes what he calls “one of the most profound near-death experiences I have ever come across.” His description is based on A Moment of Truth, a video about the near-death experience (NDE) of Jayne Smith. The July issue contained a Pioneer Profile of William Lloyd Garrison. Those knowledgeable about U.S. history will recognize Garrison as the well-known abolitionist who worked for the emancipation of the slaves. A lesser-known fact is that he was also an ardent advocate of Spiritualism.

If you’re interested in getting this free newsletter, just send me an email (Monty764@aol.com) with the subject line “Subscribe: NSAC News” or log on to the NSAC site (www.nsac.org) and go to the Newsletter section. While you’re there, you can check out the archives of past newsletters.

The Spiritualism Mailing List

My role as editor of NSAC News has led to the discovery of other interesting Internet resources. For example, the Byrne article about the near-death experience of Jane Smith led me to the discovery of the www.near-death.com website and became the basis for my June, 2003 Cyberweave column. Another resource was presented when I was invited to join The Spiritualism Mailing List. The list can be joined by going to www.smartgroups.com/groups/spiritualism and clicking on the “To request membership to this Group” button. Pluses about the list include receiving daily email affirmations like “Our thoughts reach out and touch others, then return to us magnified” and “I am on a journey of discovery;” the Healing list, a feature called “Pastor’s Corner” in which questions are answered, and the fact that members are from countries around the world. However, be prepared to get a lot of emails each day.

The Leslie Flint Educational Trust

Another resource was introduced to me by NSAC News reader Ursula Reeg who contacted me about the issue of capital punishment. Reeg, an enthusiastic admirer of the renowned British medium Leslie Flint, who passed away in 1994, emailed information from a séance in which Flint brought through a communication with Lord Birkenhead, also known as the hanging judge, Frederick Smith. The spirit of Lord Birkenhead came through for almost an hour on the necessity for total abolition of the death penalty. Through the independent voice mediumship of Flint, this spirit stated, “This is an aspect of criminal law most in need of change; whether it is through the hangman’s noose or whether it is done by some other supposedly more humane method, nothing justifies the taking of life outside the law or inside it.”

Admitting the views he expressed were quite opposed to those he held on earth, Lord Birkenhead explained this by saying: “I have seen the effects on this side of life when the law sends here souls who are unprepared and unready, their minds in turmoil, filled with thoughts of hate, revenge and fear. These souls linger near the earth and often what are known as carbon-copy murders are due to such earthbound revengeful entities, who impinge their thoughts on individuals in your world who may already be mentally unstable, and cause them to commit the same kind of crime for which the entity forfeited his life under the law.” As an alternative to capital punishment, Birkenhead suggested that the unfortunate people who commit murder could be put to useful work — they should be made to serve society in some way and given the opportunity to work out their own salvation and repentance. Toward the end he said: “There is no death. I beg of you, I plead with you, to do all in your power to bring this truth to all humanity.”

Because this email piqued my interest in Leslie Flint, Ursula suggested that I check out The Leslie Flint Educational Trust website (www.leslieflint.com). The Leslie Flint Educational Trust was created to preserve, record, authenticate and promote the work of Independent Direct Voice Medium Leslie Flint. The site contains sections like “Who is Leslie Flint,” “Leslie Flint Interviewed,” and “Audio Tapes.” The “Who is Leslie Flint” explains that before World War II and for some 25 years after it, Flint was one of Britain’s best-known Spiritualists. He possessed the rare distinction of being a direct voice medium. According to the Trust, “Flint used no trumpets or paraphernalia. Though sitting in total darkness, he did his work wide awake, not in a trance. Those who flocked to him could engage, if conditions were propitious, in fluent colloquial conversation with others, kith and kin, strangers and well known, all of them “passed over,” who manifested themselves in space, voice only, around Flint's solid if unseen presence — ‘a little above my head and to one side of me’.” Independent direct voice is a process that is activated directly by Spirit communicators. Voices can be almost identical to the way people’s voices sounded before making the transition to the Spirit World.

In the “Audio Tapes” section, anyone with a Flash 4 plugin can listen to samples from tapes that have been mastered from originals that are between 30–40 years old. One of the tapes is the communication with Lord Birkinhead mentioned above. Other tapes include communications with individual spirits ranging from the famous to the ordinary. The famous category includes a communication with Charlotte Bronte who speaks of the influence on creative people on earth and discusses the power of the mind. A communication with Maurice Chevalier tells of his confusion and frustration after passing on as well as his experiences, growth, and enlightenment. Other well-known communications are with Mahatma Gandhi, Rudolph Valentino, and Sir Winston Churchill. In the ordinary category there are communications like the one with George Briggs. A dogmatic Christian when on earth, Briggs found himself with like-minded people in the spirit realms. Then he became aware of other thought processes and was shown how to move to higher levels of consciousness. Another communication is with David Cattanach who died in a car crash at age ninteen. Cattanach speaks to his mother and other sitters about his life and rescuing souls who pass on suddenly.

The Leslie Flint Educational Trust site also contains information on how to purchase these tapes, as well as Flint’s autobiography, Voices in the Dark. In his autobiography, Flint describes his early difficult years. In the book, the reader discovers that although Flint originally held the view that “death was a pretty final event,” he subsequently developed his superb mediumship and went on to serve as a communicator between earth and the spirit world for many years. The site is well worth a visit. If you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to order the autobiography and some of the tapes.

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Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises ("Freelancing with Finesse!"), specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web authoring, development and publicity. Ms. Montgomery-Clifford has a Master's Degree in religious studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) in June 2002 and is working on a Ph.D. with a focus on the new scholarship of Unlimited Love and the Other Regarding Virtues in the Fall of 2002. She is also in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com, by phone at 773-235-8821 or at her web site at www.montymedia.com.

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