Light V1 May 1881 - Iapsop.com

Jlay !I, 1881.) LIGHT. 155
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to come, Uley could leave ! Mr. Allan, commonly known aa
"the Allan boy," waa another apecimen of health and robuat·
Dell. J. Frank Baxter, a remarkable t.eat medium, looked aa
strong u a hol'le ; while, without exception, all the female
trance ~en who came under my notice, manifested health
and spints of such high charncter as to at once dispel auy idea
of mediumahip injuring their health. Particularly was this the
cue, too, with my esteemed friend M.ra. Emma Hardinge­
Britten.
Coming neai"er home, let me say that with a view to the
collection of useful information to help me in this paper,
an effort was made to obtain answers to a aeries of queshona
given upon a prepared fonn, and sent to some 40 mediums.
Out of 30 or ao replies, which were received in return, 90 per
cent. stated that their health of body and mind has been benefited,
..00 that mediumahip baa done them good, rather than injured
them. In one cue the reply was, " not affected either way."
But from the answers obtained to my query as to the parents of
mediums being mediumistic, it seems, in many caaes, that they
gan no symptoms of such being the case so far as my informants
could state, though often brothers and aiatera were mediumistic.
It may be added that 75 per cent. of the answers to the question
"Have you been mesmerised 1" were in the negative, some,
stating that operators had tried, but failed, while two 111\id that
auooeaa waa only achieved when their controls withdrew all
opposition. Fifty per cent. of replies aa to loBB or gain of weight
were in favour of gain. In one case weight had been lost, and
in the remaining papers the spaoe allotted to the query was left
unftlled. The testimony aa to health of body and mind is, NI far
- one can judge, decidedly favourable, but a more complete
analysis must be reserved until fuller returns are obtainable.
Certainly, at some future date, the materials in my poBBeBBion
now, added to others yet to be obtained, will enable me to place
before thoee interested, facta thtt others, more capable than
m)'IMtlf, will be able to use to advantage for purposes of cl&1Bifi·
cation. Permit me a word upon myae1f. It is now nearly
13 years since my mediumahip first developed. At that time
my health waa inditrerent--0heat weak-vital action low-and
my pel'BOn waa noted for that slimness of figur" which may be
genteel, but certainly does not indicate an abundance of strength.
To-day, after about 10 years hard itinere:ncy, my health is sound
in all respect.a-mentally, as well aa bodily.
What concluaiona can be formed from tht1 neceaaarily fragmentary
at.atement which is here presented 1 It hNI been shewn
that mediumahip depends upon senaitiveneas-suaceptibility to
impreaaion&-61ld in the testimony adduced we have seen that
health of body, and of mind, do exist connected with .t~t
aenaitiveneaa or susceptibility. Health, w.~ are &BBur·~· 11 ~
harmony of function, "perfect harmony ; and as mediumahip
waa claimed aa a fact in nature is it not fair to &1Bume that
within the limits of use and fitness mediumahip can be developed
and practised without injury to health 1 H the leeaona of
penonal experiences teach me anything they teach me that. so
long u mediumahip is kept with'n due bounds, heal~h .rem.ama
unimpaired, but if exorci'6d beyond such bounds mJury to
bealtli, eooiier or later, ia the certain result.
Upon the question of developing mediumahip by the use of
dntga, &c., my opinion ia decidedly against such a coul'le, .as
being certain to result in some form of nervous or ~ent.a.1. disorder
• while it is my confident opinion that all mediumahip so
devel~ped ia largely unreliable. . Persona who ae~~m th~m-
11elvea to such aids to aenaitiveneaa may exhibit startling
phenomena, but such exhibitions are more curioua t~ useful,
more injurious than beneficial to health of body or nun~ ~e
me of mesmerism aa an aid to the development of med1umship
is alao it ~ma to me, fraught with more or leas peril to health,
while 'mediumship so developed results from a sort of over
stimulation that is in some caaea dangerous to a degree.
The beat the safest, and the wa7 in which the least injury to
health ia exPerienced, ia that development which occurs through
sitting in the family Spirit circle. It is thert: if anywhere that
the latent aenaitiveneaa becomes active. It 11 there that the
auataining elements to &BBist the developing medium can be
found. Under such conditions mediumahip can be developed
with safety, and exercised with profit ~ all concem~d. 1'.he
records of Spiritualism contain but few, if any, cases m which
injury to health, transient or permanen~, can be traced to
mediumahip per'*· But what system CAD withstand the constant
drafts upon its vitality by the continual "sitting" in which some
mediums indulge 1 Almost hourly lli~ting for ~he~omena of
10me kind, constantly required t-0. gratify the cunosity of the
inquisitive the unfortunate medium slowly and surely undermines
health, in 1tich instancu, and medi~mship,_ ra~her tha:n the
abuse of it, receives the blame. As previously ma11ted, ~tseaae
ia the natural result of such unwise pl:ocedure.
Already ithM been remarked that our profeaaional mediu~,
by the circumatances of their case, are prevented from pursumg
any of the ordinary avocations, nor does it .seem to me that they
could be expected to engage in other purawts. But t~e matf:er
of mediumahip in p~vate life is ditreren~. In the pen!>d of its
development some P.618 of bod>: or of mmd.-:-c>r both-11 sure to
be experienced aa 1J1 the case m all traJWtion states. Careful
attention to ~' exercise, bathing, and a not too frequent resort
to circle sitting would largely reduce the discomforts of development,
and whe~ that period is past, there is, to my mind, no
reason why the duties of daily life should not be done, or why
they should be interfered with by the exercise of whatever
mediumahip baa been developed.
The opinions UPon the matter at present in my mind are,
that a natural cultivation of any faculty is unatt.-nded by danger
to the individual, always providing, of course, that the said
faculty is not diseased. Accepting the opinion that what is called
mediumship is constitutional and not abnormal, there is to my
mind no valid objection to its exercise or developmeutcertainl1
no reason to suppose it injurious to health when confined
within the limits suggested. But to be constantly sitting
in circles; always on the stretch for the marvellol'rs, attributing
every pain, thought, or impulse to some outside agency, will
undermine the strength of body, vigour of mind and sweetneaa
of soul of the most robust. No thoughtful Spirits would countenance
it, no sensible person would indu!Jle in it. It stands
as a species of psychological dram drinking, a:estructive alike of
health, will, and morale.
Mediumship is not a special" gift of God," any more than
dramatical instinct, musical ability, manual dexterity, or any
other faculty which we exercise in our lives. To me, aU my
powers are " gifts of God," each to be used according to its
nature, none to be abused. It cannot be that we poaaeaa
powers, the right use of which are injurious ; it is monatroua to
so suppose. .But, if insensate and perverse, we abuse eye,
hand, ear, or mind, we must accept the punitary consequences,
and the verdict, dislike it as we may, will be "it serves yon
right. !" My full opinion is that this mediumahip is natural to
us, and that there ought to be no superstition about it. Its
possessor is not a holy one set apart to be honoured, but a worker
called to work in the midst of humanity, that the glad tidings
of life hereafter may be brought home to ua. It is poBSible to
conceive the time when we all shall be our own mediums,
having open vision of things spiritual and hearing things
spiritual with our own ears. That time will realise for ua all the
knowledge of spiritual verities now best known to the few.
To realiao the advantages of mediumshif and avoid risking
health, my advice is "temperance in al things ; follow no
fantastic leading, mortal or spiritual ; unleBB your health ii' fairly
~ood, avoid it ; and if under it your haalth is autrering, abandon
1t.,,
Conscious of the imperfections of my paper, claiming your
indulgence for them, and apologising for treapaaaing so muoh
upon your patience, let me close. My subject baa been treated
from a pur. ly practical point of view. There is another aide at
which a glance in p&1Bi11g may be permitted. We may look
upon the medium as standing between earth and Spirit-life ; a
wire between two worlds, through which vibrate ais(nala that
we anxiously watch _and nervously reoord ; signals that make
intelliaible messages to us from those gone before. To those of
us in a:oubt of that lif~and many ar~the medium ia an object
of hope, and when that hope ia fulfilled he too often becomes an
object of reverence. Servants of the Spirit-world, mediums
hal'e done noble service for ua, borne bitter persecution, worked
with indomitable courage, and sustained a warfare against the
scepticism of tlie past 33 years which has raged around them.
Spirits know how much their mediums suffer in the public
work, and we at least can bear a frank and cheerful tribute
to the services they have rendered us. Pursued under
proper conditions, developed in legitimate ways, by-and-bye
ceasing to be peculiar, as it becomes more generally
poaaeaaed, mediumahip will be a bleaaing and a benefit. Each
newly-developed faculty of body, mind, or soul that is unfolded,
adds to the world's happiness, and the individual's
power. Finally, greatly uaeful aa mediumahip ia, my opinion
remains that, as an abstract principle, its developm~nt and
exercise at the expense of health of body or of mmd, are
wrong. It need not be so developed, for in itaelf it is natural to Ulz
and therefore not injurious. The ~udicioua exercise of it neeo.
never destroy that beautiful embodunent of a true life which is
expreaaed in the words, " A sound mind in a sound body,"
and which is perfectly compatible with tl1e exercise of mediumahip.
May my closing remark be: Health first, mediumship next.
Let us not be more anxious to be mediums than we are to be
healthy, for that which lowers the health of humanity tends to
destroy our usefulness and happineaa.
UNPOPULARITY OF SPIRITUALISM.
To the Editor of "LIGHT."
Sm -Week after week letters havf'I appeared in rour journal
dep~ting the p~nt ~tatus of Spiri~ual investi~ion, and
pomting out how thlB nught be remedied. In no matance, I
think has this been better done than in the article by "A Truth
Seek~r " on "The Unpopularity of Spiritualism," in a recent
iaaue. Can you inform us who are generally interested in this
matter ; whether any such a~:pa as those p~posed are being
taken · and also in your poB1t1on aa the editor of one of the
first jo~mala devoted to these subjects, could you not exercise
your inftuence to bring this much-needed reform about 1-1
remain, yours faithfully,
Klml.BR.
[The matter baa not eacaped attention, and we hope to r·ve
definite information on the subject shortly. -ED. "LIGHT."
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