Spiritualism

[Alienist]

I was wondering if any Spiritualists were here or if anyone knew anything about Spiritualism. I know it's one of the more recent religions and their version of "God" doesn't seem to be a deity with a personality so much. Rather I noticed that they seem to think of it as a force that goes around creating stuff in the universe which sort of makes sense to me as I always thought there was a force of energy out there or a "source" so to speak. Does anyone know what sort of spiritual techniques they practice? I heard they commune with the dead, but a lot of them also tend to be psychic or use levitation or telekinesis. I don't know if they practice "magic" like spells or incantations but then again, spiritual techniques is something I always thought was magical anyway.

Does anyone know anything else about Spiritualism. I mention this as I don't see it mentioned often here.

[InspiringRaine]

Re: Spiritualism

I could be really wrong, but just skimming the wikipedia article, it seemed to me that the concept of it can pretty much be found in most religions, in some form or another. So, I guess I really don't get the distinction?

[blue_coyote]

Re: Spiritualism

Sounds like you might be getting the two types of spiritualists mixed up there. There's a difference between a spiritual person and someone who pokes about in paranormal business.
I consider myself spiritual for the part. I'm pretty anti-organized religion when it comes to my own outlook on things, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with how I grew up and my own personal experiences. I was raised with the good ol' american ideology of christianity is the only right way to heaven and everything else will most likely lead you down to hell. Very introspective and self searching in regards god and what not from a young age. Studied hinduism, taoism, bit of buddhism, and sure I've read a few other things since the latter half of my teenage years.

Do I poke around with paranormal things? No. Stirring up the energies of the unseen is not on my list of things to do. Plus I know better than to do any of that.

[Alienist]

Re: Spiritualism

I could be really wrong, but just skimming the wikipedia article, it seemed to me that the concept of it can pretty much be found in most religions, in some form or another. So, I guess I really don't get the distinction?

Well wikipedia offers the basics and of course isn't always reliable, but I thought it was actually kind of distinct. It's not very dogmatic like others. They talk of God or "the Infinite Intelligence but worshiping it I hear isn't what they usually do. I hear it's actually sort of like Buddhism, except they excel in communion with spirits and psychic powers.

- - - Updated - - -

Sounds like you might be getting the two types of spiritualists mixed up there. There's a difference between a spiritual person and someone who pokes about in paranormal business.
I consider myself spiritual for the part. I'm pretty anti-organized religion when it comes to my own outlook on things, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with how I grew up and my own personal experiences. I was raised with the good ol' american ideology of christianity is the only right way to heaven and everything else will most likely lead you down to hell. Very introspective and self searching in regards god and what not from a young age. Studied hinduism, taoism, bit of buddhism, and sure I've read a few other things since the latter half of my teenage years.

Do I poke around with paranormal things? No. Stirring up the energies of the unseen is not on my list of things to do. Plus I know better than to do any of that.

I'm not sure how evoking deities or angels is any different than stirring up energies of the unseen which some heathens, celtics and others have done. So how is communion with spirits any different? As long as you know what you're stirring up and not dabble at random, it shouldn't matter so much unless you stir up negative energy. Some spiritual people do poke around paranormal stuff of course.

[Hekla]

Re: Spiritualism

When I called myself spiritual, I stumbled across spiritualism while researching what being spiritual meant. So I read up on it, both from Wikipedia and another website or two. I don't remember the sites, but I was a little put-off/skiddish in a way from what I read. If I were on my computer I'd try to search for the websites in question, but I'm not so I can't. Later on I'll try to find them though.

I think the only thing I had against it was that it called itself a religion on one of the sites, and I didn't want to be associated with a religion.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Spiritualism

Your write up reminds me very much of the mindset that was found in the Spiritualist movement at the turn of the century. Not so much a religious perspective but involving lots of seances, metaphysical stuff if I recall correctly. Harry Houdini was one who was very intrigued by them and promised if there was life after death he would make contact via them to prove it. Near as I can recall at the moment your looking at roughly the 1880's to mid 1920's was its heyday period. I do know you find channeling as a major aspect of things though not in the sense the word is typically used today as they claimed to channel the dead.

[Rick]

Re: Spiritualism

Starting in my late teens, a group of us would occasionally visit a Spiritualist church for their Sunday evening service, cuz that's when they gave the 'messages' (admittedly, this was for the entertainment value for us). The church itself was adorned with much the same trappings found in any small non-denominational Christian church, and the sermon was much the same. After the sermon, three or four women (the church elders) would give messages; sometimes they were generically from 'the spirits' and sometimes they would be from specific individuals who had passed on. I don't know if any of this was typical of Spiritualist churches in general, or specific to the one in Oklahoma City.

[Ophidia]

Re: Spiritualism

Here's a synopsis:

Spiritualism as a religious movement started in the mid-1800s in the US. It incorporates many hallmarks of charismatic Christianity - followers can be prophets, they have visions, and they communicate directly wth God, angels and the dead.

The religion grew out of the Second Great Awakening' Christian revival movement of the late 1700s. It's centered largely around the writings of Andrew Jackson Davis & Emanuel Swedenborg. Kate and Margaret Fox (the Fox Sisters) are considered the founders of the religion - they claimed they made direct contact with a spirit and held seances to communicate with it and receive messages. Allan Kardec branched off from the Spiritualist movement and created his own version that he called Spiritism, which took off in Brazil and evolved into the modern practice of Santo Daime. There was a lot of occultist showmanship going on at many of the seances - things like ectoplasmic manifestations and table-rapping.

It's pretty common in the southeastern US. The churches themselves could be mistaken for any Southern Baptist church and you won't hear as much about nature, reincarnation or references to God as anything but God. There are a few here in Las Vegas, too - but they are largely Spanish-speaking, and I don't enough Spanish to follow along, so I can't really tell you if it's more Christian or more New-Agey out here than the ones in Tennessee.

Apparently, there's another one out here, too - the website's got info on Spiritualism:

http://www.spiritualistdesertchurchlv.org/

[Tree Thorn]

Re: Spiritualism

Both of my Grandmothers were Spiritualists, they had clairvoyant friends and would have "readings" and attend seances. One of my Uncles could make the ouija board pointer fly and swear that he did not control it. My Dad's mom would attend a Spiritualist camp around Chesterton Indiana after her husband died in the 1930,s.