Taves, A. (1999). Fits, Trances and Visions: Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Morton Klass argued that a distinction be made whereby the term ‘trance’ is used solely to describe the shamanic experience of soul-flight, and journeys to other worlds, and suggested that the notion of ‘Patterned Dissociative Identity’ be used to refer to instances of possession trance, in which the personality of the medium is altered or displaced. 84 Others have worked over the last couple of years which I understand included a visit from David Thompson, Gordon Garforth and Jean Skinner. Minister Steven Upton has also been working towards the use of physical mediumship within healing for several years and Sharon Harvey is starting to experiment with this aspect of her mediumship at the College.” As another counterbalance to Lewis’s model, Susan Rasmussen has highlighted the practice of spirit possession amongst the Kel Ewey Tuareg of Nigeria, noting that Tuareg women ‘are not subjugated, but enjoy high status and prestige’, and so do not fit the standard social-protest model. 21 Owing to these obvious discrepancies between Lewis’s general theory and the ethnographic reality, Donovan (2000) has argued that Lewis’s hypothesis, although generally applicable to many possession cults, ought not be thought of as a complete theory, but rather should be supplemented by other approaches. In other words, while it is undoubtedly the case that spirit possession performs a range of social functions, this is not necessarily all that is going on. Therapeutics

Traditionally, and with no confirmed exceptions in the Western world, this rare form of mediumship has undergone much of its development in the dark. The reason for this is that ectoplasm – a substance exuded from the physical medium’s body, is extremely sensitive to light. Many are the physical mediums who have sustained injuries because the sudden and unexpected introduction of light has caused the ectoplasm to return violently to the medium’s body, resulting in burns and bleeding. Recently Scott Milligan himself suffered a burn after an illuminated rope was thrown close to his body when ectoplasm was present in the room. Laughlin, C.D. (2013). ‘Dreaming and Reality: A Neuroanthropological Account.’ International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, Vol. 32, pp. 64-78.Knowing that AFC has sought spirit guidance on the future of physical mediumship at the College, I asked David Bruton through whom that spirit guidance had been given. In this case the identity of the medium for that information is particularly relevant since, as we know, a medium is a human instrument and his or her mind (and therefore, personal opinions) can never be 100 per cent absent from the communication, even when in deep trance. Gauld, A. (1982). Mediumship and Survival: A Century of Investigations. London: Granada Publishing Ltd. Another pathological interpretation of spirit possession that was, until relatively recently, popular in the anthropological literature is the ‘nutrient deficiency hypothesis’. This essentially suggests that instances of spirit possession, particularly in women, occur as a result of – and in response to – extended malnourishment. 42 Kehoe & Giletti write: Anon. CORRESPONDENCE: THE ‘HODGSON REPORT’ ON MADAME BLAVATSKY, Journal 45, 1969-70, pp. 188-97. Criticisms of a parapsychologist’s support of the report. See also pp. 314-5. physical mediumship/beliefs/theosophy/magic/cheating By contrast, in the parapsychological literature the term ‘spirit possession’ seldom refers to mediumship, as it carries connotations of involuntary and demonic possession, while mediumship is usually held to be a voluntary and deliberately initiated activity.

Bubandt, N. (2009). ‘Interview with an Ancestor: Spirits as Informants and the Politics of Possession in North Maluku.’ Ethnography, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 291-316. The medium or chairperson at a seance must give a pre-seance briefing to the sitters with details of what can and can’t be done during the seance, tailored to the individual medium who is working during the seance. More recent research, however, has demonstrated that the distinction between the ideal shaman as a controller of the spirits, and the ideal medium as entirely under the control of the spirits, is often blurred. 86 Wilson has also criticised the classically assumed distinction between spirit mediumship and shamanism, and has proposed that spirit mediumship, and in particular Euro-American Spiritualist mediumship, can be thought of as a variety of shamanism, with mediumship development seen as a form of shamanic apprenticeship. 87 The passing of the great materialisation medium Alec Harris in 1974 seems to have marked a watershed in physical mediumship. Since then, there has been no reported instance of full materialisation in light, a mystery over which many of us have puzzled, including our physical mediums.

What is materialisation?

As any medium seeking to develop their ability knows, it is the other world that unfolds our mediumship. I asked what safeguards were to be put in place to protect me if the camera damaged my mediumship or my health when used in a séance. No answer was given. St. Germain- You will not work with her while still in a human body on earth, however, she is my assistant in the work we do and Violet assists in structuring my work. She is in a busy community and someday you will be a member of this community yourself. Physical mediumship is very rare and it is said that there are probably only a handful of good physical mediums in the world. It is also said it can take 10 or 20 years for physical mediumship to develop. Listed below are the more common phenomena that take place during a physical mediumship reading and are used as direct evidence of an afterlife and communication with those who have passed on to the spirit world. Kehoe & Giletti suggest that spirit possession cults represent ‘institutionalised recognition of class endemic symptoms of nutrient deficiency’. 44 However, the idea has been subject to much criticism, as it is easy to see instances where the hypothesis fails to stand up to scrutiny, for example within the modern Euro-American Spiritualist tradition. Bourguignon et al. (1983) have provided several counter-arguments to the nutrient deficiency hypothesis; for example they highlight:

Our concept of the ASC is, therefore, built upon this foundational perception of a generalized productive waking consciousness. ASCs from this perspective are modes of experiencing the world through forms of consciousness different to our ‘everyday waking consciousness’. Of course there is a wide range of these alternate modes of consciousness, including everything from early morning drowsiness and caffeine rushes to dreams, trances, ecstasies and psychedelic states. Levy, R.I., Mageo, J.M., Howard, A. (1996). ‘Gods, Spirits, and History.’ In J.M. Mageo, & A. Howard (eds) (1996). Spirits in Culture, History, and Mind. London: Routledge. If as Spiritualists we are serious about the scientific aspect of our movement, we need to put in place controls and safeguards which will meet the scrutiny of both internal stakeholders and the wider sceptical world. Personally I see this as building on the legacy left by Arthur Findlay when he gave his home to the Spiritualists’ National Union for the study of Psychic Sciences. As Principal of the College I believe strongly that we should take a lead on this for the future benefit of the movement as a whole.” Boddy, J. (1988). ‘Spirits and Selves in Northern Sudan: The Cultural Therapeutics of Possession and Trance.’ American Ethnologist, Vol.15, No. 1, pp. 4-27. Its development can be long and arduous, requiring enormous dedication. Many seeking to develop it have sat for years before even ‘minor’ phenomena, such as the levitation of objects, have occurred. Many more sit for a lifetime in hope of development and nothing whatsoever occurs.Maraldi, E., Machado, F.R. & Zangari, W. (2010). ‘Importance of a Psychosocial Approach for a Comprehensive Understanding of Mediumship.’ Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 181-196. He was not willing to disclose the identity of the medium involved, but told me: “. . . five working mediums contributed to the protocol, collectively drawing upon the support from their spirit teams.” He followed this with a lengthy quote from pioneer Emma Hardinge Britten which space limitations will unfortunately not allow me to reproduce here. Experiences happen whether you're under stress or not, and regardless of how many mindful solutions you try. Kehoe, A. B. & Giletti, D.H. (1981). ‘Women’s Preponderance in Possession Cults: The Calcium-Deficiency Hypothesis Extended.’ American Anthropologist, Vol. 83, No. 3, pp. 549-561. Most people sense Spirit before they see them so - If you feel any of the above sensations in any known spirit local, such as