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How I Became A Spiritualist

THE EXPERIENCES OF A MEDICAL MAN DURING TWO YEARS.

By C.F. MARSHALL. M.D.

Although for some time convinced of the truth of survival, and also of the main principles and doctrines of Spiritulism, I was , until a comparatively recent time, somewhat sceptical as regards clairvoyance and Spirit communion. However as one with a scientific training, I kept an open mind. As the result of later experiences I am now convinced that the incidents which I have to relate are open to no other explanation than that by spirit communication. I am well aware that this has been a long accepted tenet in Spiritualistic belief, but as in the majority of my experinces, the evidence appears to be beyond the reach of the carping critic, I think they are worth recording.

The first incident which arrested my attention occured about two years ago, when at a Spiritualist Church the clairvoyant described the spirit of an officer killed in the war who was standing between ray, wife and myself. The description tallied with that of a nephew of mine who was killed in 1917, and the message, which was very appropriate in connection with our search for evidence, is worth quoting; it was: "It is difficult to digest, but keep straight on"

A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE

Sometime after this, at the same Church, a spirit came through the clairvoyan,t announcing himself as William Marshall (My fathers name). His description corresponded closely to my father and he was not claimed by anyone else in the Church.

In Octobe,r 1930, my wife joined a small private circle, and at the first sitting had a remarkable experience. The medium in trance enacted the details of an aeroplane crash, and the pilot in an exhausted condition grasped my wifes hand and gave a message of "good luck". This experience occured on October the 23rd. On Sunday October 19th four days previously, my cousin, Dr. Whitehead Reid of Canterbury, popularly known as the" flying doctor," crashed in his airoplane and died in Maidstone hospital on the following day. At that time my wife, who knew Dr. Reid very well, was not know by name to the medium or to anyone in the circle. We assumed that the spirit was that of Dr. Reid, and this belief has been confirmed, as he has come through several times since to the same circle, announcing himself by name, and mentioning facts known by no one else in the circle except my wife and myself. Among these I may mention references to my son and the boys of King's school, Canterbury, of which he was the medical officer.

After this inc.ident I joined the circle and attended regulalry with my wife.The circle is a small private one, held weekly, and conducted by two mediums, both of whom go under control and one of whom is also clairvoyant.

THE STORY OF THE RING

On February 17th, 1931, occured the first return of my brother, the late Professor A.Milnes Marshall, a distinguished scientist who was formerly Professor of Zoology at the Manchester University, and who met his death while on a climbing expedition on Scawfell on December the 31st 1893. The medium being in trance, a voice came through saying with great emotion: "My beloved Brother." He spoke with difficulty but grasped my wifes hand and asked for a ring which she always wore which formerly belonged to him. This evidently served as a mode of recognition. The ring is a peculiar one, the history of whch we did not know except that it cam from Norway and was said to be very old.

At the close of the circle it was given to one of the mediums to psychometrise. She said : "The ring belonged to a monk. I see a long winding road covered with snow and leading to a monastery" At the same time the other medium went into trance and was controlled by a spirit who came through for the first time. His voice was weak but he described himself as Father Johann and said that the ring belonged to him and was 360 years old. He also said that his spirit was with my brother at the time of his fatal accident. Since this occasion Father Johann has manifested himself in our circle regularly, and with increasing strength.

An interesting point about the ring is that it has a device representing a circle of sunflowers, surrounding a larger sunflower, the centre of which has been obliterated, but wich may have originally represented a human face, thus corresponding to the Sunflower badge of the International Spiritualists Federation. In connection with this incident it must be stated that neither of the mediums knew anything about my late brother and never had examined the ring before.

The return of my brother to the earth plane, apart from personal considerations, appears to be one that may lead to further developments. Since the above incident he has come regularly to the circle and has said lately that he would inspire me to write.

A CURE FOR CANCER?

At a circle held in June, 1931, the second medium being in trance, her control informed me that I was to sit for automatic writing, as my brother would come for the purpose at a definite time everyday. This was then commenced, the writing at first being indefinate and irregular, but after a time definite words were written in reply to questions written down and spoken. On August 4th I was informed through the same medium that I was to write a book on cancer, which would be inspired by doctors on the Spirit plane and transmitted to me by my brother through the medium of automatic writing. Although I have been for a long time engaged in literary work, I had not yet formed any idea of writing specifically on the subject of cancer. Interesting information has already been recieved and further progress is expected.

So far I have dealt only with events at the circle intimately connected with my wife and myself, as the evidence in these cases is obviously more complete and satisfactory. There are however many other incidents which I might record. First of all, as a proof of provision of future events may be mentioned the fact that on June the 16th a message came through from one fo the controls informing us that my son who was then at school, would be coming home earlier than usual on account of illness in the school, but that he himself would not contract it. On July the 21st (five week afterwards) I received a notice from the headmaster saying that the boy would be sent home owing to an outbreak of measles.

Notabilities "Come Back"

On one occasion Lord Roberts and Lord French came through at the same time as my wife's brother, who died in the war, giving us warnings of the danger of impending war amongst the nations, and entreating as Spiritualists to do our utmost to avert it. Week by week, apart from the spirits of out intimate friends and relations, those fo the most varied people came through to our circle, often shortly after their passing. Among the notabilities have been General Booth, Quentin Hogg and Cradinal Newman, the latter coming on the occasion of our singing his Hymn, "Lead Kindly Llight". Another was the late Empress of Russia who came deploring the futility of her earthly life and telling us that she was a very humble worker on the other side. Another was the driver of the Scottish Express whcih met with disaster not long ago.He told us that he was a believer in Spiritulism while on earth. These examnples suffice to show the manifold variety of the spirits who came to us.

Help for Distressed Souls

I will conclude these notes with a brief account of the nature of our circle and the work that it performs. It is held in a small room, used exclusively for the purpose, in a humble house forming one of a row of houses in a suburban street. The medium has held seances for thirty years, and we are told the house is closely guarded by Spirit guides. This explains why our medium is such a trustworthy instrument for Spirit communion, and why our lights are seen by so many and such varied spirits. In return for help recieved by the member of the circle, comfort is given to the many souls who have recently passed over. Among these especially are cases of suicide, sudden death and murder, the occasions of which have often formed sensational topics in the daily press.

I put forward the incidence that I have related as a further contribution to the evidence, the accumulation of whch compels us to believe in the doctrine of personal survival and of Spirit communion, and to recognise that by this agency we can not only receive spiritual uplifiting but also obtain information of value to humanity.

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