reading

images

Talking With the Dead
Copyright © 2012 Raymond Buckland
ISBN: 9781623091583

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Buckland Books, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

images

Queen Victoria Press

P. O. Box 892, Wooster, OH 44691-0892

CONTENTS

The World of Spirit

The Need to Communicate

A Brief History of Spiritualism

The Spiritualist Religion

Spiritualist Camps

Mediums

Types of Mediums

Clairvoyance

clairaudience

clairsentience

physical mediums

ectoplasm

apport

asport

transfiguration

Mediumship, Channeling, Psychism

Séance

Responsibility of Mediumship

First Steps to Mediumship

Talking Boards

Table Tipping

Automatic Writing

Direct Voice

Development Circles

Rescue Circles and Spirit Healing

Spirit Photography

Frequently Asked Questions

Bibliography

Appendix: The Nature of Deity

About the Author

Talking With the Dead

An Introduction to Spirit Communication

The general public tends to think of séances and mediumship as fraudulent. Some few people may have vague doubts and think – perhaps even hope – that there are some “real” mediums that actually can connect and communicate with spirits of the deceased, but the majority of people have doubts. Yet just because it is easy to duplicate something in a fraudulent manner, does not mean that the real thing doesn’t exist.

There has been a long history of people fooled by con artists pretending to be mediums, and bilking bereaved widows and widowers out of large sums of money, on the pretext of putting them in touch with their departed loved ones. Yet there have also been a large number of fraudulent insurance salesmen, bankers, politicians, television evangelical preachers, investment consultants, and more.

There is life after death and it is possible to make contact with the Spirit World. It is also possible for many people – if not most – to themselves become mediums through whom such contact may be made. This book offers information on how to do so.

Raymond Buckland

THE WORLD OF SPIRIT

The picture of the Spirit World presented below is based on material obtained, over many years, through a large number of authentic mediums and through material obtained from those who have experienced the “near death” experience (they have been officially declared dead but later regained consciousness).

-------------------------------------

ASTRAL PLANE 2 (“Summerland”)

-------------------------------------

EARTH 1 PLANE

If we look upon this physical world in which we live as Level One, then when we die we progress into Level Two. Almost certainly there are other levels to which we later progress (early Spiritualists said there are seven in all) but we won’t concern ourselves with those for the moment, since it is between these two levels – Earth and Astral Plane – that our communication takes place.

The other levels are not necessarily literally above us, but since many people do think of it that way this is how I have depicted it here. (In fact, I think it is far more likely that they exist right here, in the same space, but in another dimension; another frequency, as it were.)

When we die we pass from this plane, or level, to the next, and there we again come together with those we have known and loved in their previous earthly existences. We are reunited with our parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and all the good friends who have died before us. It is a wonderful time of reunion; once again being with those we have missed and, perhaps, believed gone for ever.

We find ourselves in a setting much like the one we left here in earth — there are trees and fields, buildings and books, food and drink, just as we had before. We are able to walk the fields and woods or, if we prefer, the streets of our favorite city. The truth is, however, that we no longer actually need these things. They are only there as “spiritual representations” of their earthly equivalents, to make our transition easier. Since we are in the world of spirit we do not (for example) actually need a chair to sit down on, for we don’t get tired. Nor do we need a house to live in. Yet we find ourselves with these apparently solid things because it would be too traumatic to suddenly be left without them.

Similarly, we find ourselves still with our body, as it was in the physical world. Indeed, this is how we are able to recognize those loved ones who come to greet us and help make the transition easier; because they look as they did when we last saw them in the flesh.

The first “trick” we learn is that we are able to change things, such as our “physical” appearance. If we had trouble losing weight here on earth, we can become slim on Level Two simply by wishing it! If we were old and bald when we made the transition, we can quickly take on the young and virile appearance we remember from the days of our youth. If we were physically handicapped, we can become whole again. All this is possible simply by wishing that it be so. As it happens, in the physical world (on Level One) we can also create our own reality if we try, though it usually takes most of us a very long time to do so. But on Level Two, we can create what we desire immediately.

How long we stay on Level Two probably varies from person to person (or “spirit to spirit”). It must also be remembered that there is no such thing as time there. Time is a human-made concept, as a convenience.

Those who believe in reincarnation, feel that this second level is where we review what we have learned in our past life, and where we plan what we need to do in the next life. But whether immediately, or after a number of visits to Level One, we all eventually move on to Level Three. Almost certainly, in due time, we later move on to the other levels.

It seems that, on Level Two at any rate, we do not come face to face with Divinity, in whatever shape or form we may believe He or She manifests¹. If there is to be such a meeting, then it probably takes place much farther up the chain of advancement.

______________________________________

¹ See Appendix: The Nature of Deity.

THE NEED TO COMMUNICATE

On this earthly level – Level One –