Twenty Questions About Mediums

Source: The Spiritist Group of New York.

1- What is a medium?

A medium is anyone who possess the ability to perceive the spirit world in any way. Spiritism teaches that 'we are all mediums' in different aspects.  In spiritist sessions, the 'medium' is the person whose awareness of the spirit world has reached a level in which the person is conscious of the phenomena enough so that direct, controlled spirit communication is at least a possibility. In all mediumship communication, the medium is just the messenger and not the author.

2- How does this awareness occur?

The spirit world is a series of dimensions that exist in different vibrations from our own material world. A medium is like a radio that can be in tuned to different radio frequencies (dimensions) under particular circumstances. We cannot 'see' the various radio stations, but the radio can bring them to us. This particular type of awareness is similar to our other senses.

3- Why are some more in tune to the spirit world than others?

Mediumship development is a natural part of a spirit's evolution, occurring slowly during the long process of incarnation, death and reincarnation. Why are some people able to sing better than others?  When an individual's mediumship development has reached a certain level, the ability will show itself.

4- So being an active medium means I am more evolved than those who are not?

Being an active medium means that in your long development process, you have finally reached a certain point. A person's mediumship development does not reflect their evolution in any other aspect of their being. Anyone, from the most ethical to the most unethical individual, may develop mediumship ability. Mediumship is like any other skill.  Just as a person may have a talent for sports, music or carpentry, it does not imply a high or low level amount of ethical or spiritual growth.

5- If mediumship has nothing to do with a person's spirit or ethical evolution, then why is the ability part of our overall evolution?

We all are in the process of developing mediumship abilities because it is a vital tool for learning and the expiation of past errors. Developing a greater awareness of God and of the rest of the universe is a perfectly reasonable and necessary step in the evolution of any intelligent being.

6- So mediumship is a tool for learning?

Any tool or experience that is a part of our lives is a critical part of the learning process. Mediumship is a tool that we can use freely, and how we use this ability will be a direct reflection of our ethical growth, and of the vital lessons we still need to learn. Just like any student in school, learning happens from understanding both our successes and failures.

7- What would be the wrong way to use our mediumship skill?

The correct way of using mediumship is based on the same reasonable standard as in making any other ethical choice. We misuse mediumship when it is used to exploit others, to cause harm, for self indulgence, exploitation, abuse, manipulation and as a tool for violence. We use the tool correctly when it's used to help others, to bring enlightenment, and we give it selflessly without any personal gain.

8- Mediumship cannot be used for any personal gain?

Your mediumship may be used in whatever way you wish; we all have freedom of choice.  The mediumship ability does the most good when profit, greed and self-service do not interfere with the process of helping others.  Think about how destructive a profit motive can be for a charitable or religious organization, or for a government.  It is important to understand that every action has a consequence and that using mediumship for exploitation and/or personal gain will have equally negative consequences.

9- So mediumship is a burden?

Mediumship is not easy; it is a life long commitment that will complicate our lives in every single way imaginable. Using this ability to unselfishly help others is an ethical act. Every time a medium helps someone unselfishly that medium is wiping away many past errors, confirming that the ethical lessons have been learned and taking immense leaps in their spiritual evolution.

Like any any other difficult path in our lives, being a medium may have low moments, but it also has great moments of joy, which quickly make the past difficulties worthwhile. For a medium that chooses to use their gift unselfishly, the rewards are many. Helping others, and being a messenger through which enlightened spirits communicate brings a level of happiness and personal satisfaction that is beyond words.

10- So the way we use our mediumship determines the kind of spirits that will use us to communicate?

Of course! In life, the way we conduct ourselves and treat others will directly determine the kind of people that are attracted to us - and the kind of people who are repulsed. A medium who tries to live an ethical life - in spite of the many earthly temptations - will attract helpful and wise spirits who will assist and provide guidance in this chosen path. Just as mediums who use their gift to fulfill their material, selfish impulses will attract selfish, deceitful, impulsive spirits who will use the medium to do harm and do harm to the medium in the process.

This does not mean that all the spirits attracted to this medium are perfect (very evolved). The spirit world, like the material world, is filled with individuals who are in different levels of evolution. For a medium, these would be the typical steps:

 - Choose a positive path for their skills

 - Expect to be tested and show that you are willing to make mediumship a life long journey

 - Anticipate that another kind of spirit will join the 'good spirits' already attracted to the medium. They are called spirit teachers; and these spirits have reached a high level of ethical evolution and will come only when they see that the medium is both willing and able to carry out important tasks.

11- When a medium has allowed a spirit to communicate, is the medium responsible for what happens next?

Yes. At all times the medium is responsible for his/her actions.  The spirit is certainly responsible for what he/she says or does through a medium, but the medium always bares equal responsibility for what happens. This is why mediums question the spirits before allowing them to sit.

12- How can a medium tell the difference between a helpful and hurtful spirit when the time comes for a spirit to communicate?

Mediums will learn to recognize what kind of spirit that is trying to communicate by the 'feeling' they receive from the spirit, the way the spirit communicates, the type of message the spirit wants to communicate, and the willingness of the spirit to respect the medium and his or her free will.

One medium may communicate messages from several different types of spirits, as explained by Kardec in "The Mediums' Book", Chapter X, 'The Nature of Spirit Communications'.

"If we bear in mind the infinite variety that exists among Spirits, under the double aspect of intelligence and of morality, we perceive that a corresponding diversity must exist in their communications, which necessarily reflect the elevation or the backwardness of the Spirits by whom they are made; and that the quality of their ideas, their degree of knowledge or of ignorance, their virtues and their vices, will be evidenced by the communications which emanate from them, and which no more resemble each other than do, among men, those of the savage and the most enlightened European. But all the shades presented by Spirit-communications may be grouped into four principal categories; according to their most salient characteristics, they may be designated as coarse, frivolous, serious, and instructive.

Coarse communications are those which shock propriety. They can only proceed from Spirits at a very low stage of development, still soiled with the impurities of materiality. They are in no way different from the utterances of coarse and vicious men, and are revolting to every one who has the least delicacy of sentiment; being trivial, obscene, insolent, arrogant, malevolent, or even impious, according to the character of the Spirits who make them.

Frivolous communications emanate from Spirits who are frivolous, mischievous, and keen to trickery, rather than wicked, and who attach no importance to what they say. As there is nothing unseemly in their communications, they amuse persons who take pleasure in futile talk. Such Spirits, however, sometimes come down upon their interlocutors with clever, biting sallies, throwing off, in the midst of commonplace jokes, hard truths which often hit the mark. These frivolous Spirits are around us in swarms, and take every opportunity of mixing themselves up with the communications of other Spirits. Having no respect for veracity, they take a mischievous pleasure in hoaxing those who have the weakness or presumption to believe in them. Those who amuse themselves with such communications naturally give access to foolish and deceptive Spirits; while, at the same time, they repel serious ones, who, like serious men, avoid the society of the unreasoning and the giddy.

Serious communications are distinguished by the gravity of the subjects of which they treat, and by the seriousness of their tone. Every communication exempt from coarseness and frivolity, and having in view a useful object, even though it be of merely private interest, may be classed as 'serious', but nevertheless, it may not be exempt from error. Serious Spirits are not all equally enlightened; there are many things of which they are ignorant, and concerning which they may be mistaken. For this reason, Spirits who are really superior constantly advise us to submit all communications to the test of examination and reason.

It is therefore imperatively necessary to distinguish between communications that are seriously true and communications that are seriously false. This is not always easy, for it is often under the guise of seriousness that presumptuous and superficial Spirits seek to foist upon us their erroneous ideas and absurd theories, unscrupulously assuming the most honored and even the most venerated names, in order the more effectually to impose upon us, a method of deception which constitutes one of the most dangerous stumbling blocks of practical Spiritism...

Instructive communications are those which are not only serious, but also convey the teachings of Superior Spirits on points of science, morality, philosophy, etc. They are more or less profound in proportion to the elevation and dematerialization of the communicating Spirit. In order to reap benefit from such communications, they must be followed up with regularity and perseverance. Serious Spirits attach themselves to those who desire instruction, and assist them, but those who see in these manifestations a source of passing amusement are left by them to the companionship of Spirits as frivolous as themselves. It is only by the regularity and frequency of such communications that we can appreciate the moral and intellectual worth of the Spirits with whom we thus hold conversation, and the degree of confidence which they deserve. If experience is necessary in order to form a true estimate of men, it is, if possible, still more necessary in forming a true estimate of Spirits.

In applying to these communications the qualification of instructive, we imply that they are true; for what is not true can never be instructive, though expressed in the most imposing language. We therefore do not include in this category certain teachings which have nothing serious about them but their high-flown and pretentious style by which Spirits possessed of more presumption than philosophy endeavor to mislead. But such Spirits, being unable to disguise their shallowness are incapable of keeping up their false assumptions for any length of time; they soon betray their weak side if we continue to converse with them and ply them with questions which compel them to show their incompetence."

Mediums will learn to recognize what kind of spirit that is trying to communicate by the 'feeling' from the spirit, the way the spirit communicates, the type of message the spirit wants to communicate, and the willingness of the spirit to respect the medium and your free will.

13- So I have to become a saint to be a good medium?

Learning is a slow, life long process; the point is to strive for some progress every day.  We live our lives the best we can.  Ask yourself, "Have I learned anything today?" "Have I done good today?" "What mistakes have I made today?" Be honest in answering those questions and let the answers be your guide for the next day. Remember that when we strive to live an ethical life and do good, we are never alone. Spirit friends and teacher  will open doors, help us endure, and become guides that will be with us every day of our life.

14- If I see/hear a spirit claiming to be a family member is it a good or bad spirit?

Just because the spirit resembles a family member does not mean it really is one.  As mediums we attract spirits with the same virtues and/or faults as our own, and spirits do have the ability to appear in different forms (faces or masks). When confronted by this dilemma, do not concentrate on the possibility that the spirit may or may not be a deceased relative, use the normal questioning techniques for any spirit to identify a good spirit or an ignorant spirit.

15- I have never seen spirits but I have heard them, when awake and asleep. Am I a medium?

Yes, any kind of communication between you and a spirit is mediumship. The particular kind of spirit communication allowed by your mediumship is particular to every individual like a fingerprint. It is not a reflection of greater or lesser mediumship ability or ethical progress.

16- Why could I see spirits as a child, and now I cannot?

A medium during childhood actually possesses a much deeper connection between the material and spirit world. It is very common for children to experience mediumship phenomena. As the child ages and reaches pre teen years, the same hormonal changes that accompany young adulthood also limit mediumship in many individuals. If your mediumship is developed enough for spirit communication in your adult years, the ability will show itself again. If it is not, you are not to blame, in your next existence the ability may have evolved enough to return during adulthood.

17- What is a 'guardian angel'? How can I recognize it?

A guardian angel is the name sometimes given to your main spirit guide. When a spirit is created and first incarnates on earth, God assigns an evolved spirit to be the guide for the young spirit during its Earthly incarnations. As time passes, the reincarnating spirit develops relationships with other spirits through family bonds. The time can come when a family member who evolves more quickly can choose to take the place of the existing spirit guide. As for recognizing your guardian angel (spirit guide), you will feel great affinity and affection for this spirit who will appears to be with you more often than all other spirits you may see.

18- Can I die or be severely harmed during a spirit communication?

Yes, you could also die or be severally harmed by driving a car or walking down the street on any given day. Mediumship is a tool that requires great study and discipline by the medium. The medium is exposed to dangers when he/she chooses to arbitrarily allow communication with any spirit and refuses to choose the path of learning and personal ethical progress.

19- OK, I want to be a medium, what do I need to do to learn?

Mediumship is an ability that develops naturally during many life times. It cannot be forced. Now if you have some mediumship ability and wish to improve those abilities, this is possible. But it might be wise to ask yourself the nature of your intentions for developing your mediumship. If you want to do good with your mediumship, then your spirit guides and teachers will help with the development as they see fit. Trying to force the further development of a mediumship ability opens the doors to cruel, ignorant and hurtful spirits who will exploit your misguided intentions.

20- What if I am a medium, and I do not want to be one any more?

It's a very difficult question, as we have our own free will. Mediumship is a natural ability that has evolved through many existences. Ideally, we could simply not use the ability and move on with our lives. But the reality is that mediumship is an additional sense that cannot be turned off. We may choose to ignore our mediumship and never develop it, but that may make more vulnerable to hurtful spirits who will exploit our unwillingness to develop the ability to control the spirit communication that is part of our destiny. A lot of prayer, deep soul searching, and perhaps more study of Spiritism would be advised.  Find a Spiritist center and ask the leaders for help and direction.