Flint:

I appreciate the fact that the tape recordings in themselves cannot provide proof to you. In any case the tape recordings are not perhaps as good as they might be, the reproduction etc., and it’s difficult to hear with great clarity. Nevertheless, it’s an illustration of a kind and, what I would like to say is this; that there is always a great number of people, when we discuss this subject of Spiritualism and psychical research who, their first impact, their first impression, and their first reaction is, ‘oh well I don’t think it’s a good thing, I don’t think you should dabble with this and I don’t think that it’s right to call up the dead.’

 

Well of course we all know, at least those of us who have some knowledge of the subject, realise that it’s quite impossible to call up the dead. No one can call up the dead. A medium certainly can’t do it, I mean I could sit from now until doomsday , as it were, in a seance and possibly, indeed quite often, nothing happens at all. So this idea that some people have, who know little or nothing of the subject, about being able to call up the dead, it’s just very stupid.

 

But this whole subject, as I said at the beginning, is terribly, terribly complex. Mediumship, by its very nature is variable, unpredictable. There may be an occasion when someone will come to you for a seance and you may have the most extraordinary results, the evidence may be overwhelming and then perhaps the next day, nothing happens at all.

 

This whole subject, by its very nature, is complex. We don’t know very much about it, indeed, I feel that after nearly forty years as a medium, I know very, very little about the ‘mechanics’, if I can use such an expression, of mediumship. mediumship is terribly complex, whether it is Physical Mediumship, such as the Direct Voice or Materialisation or whether it is of another kind, such as Trance, mental phenomena. And of course there are many levels, that we don’t know how much the subconscious mind can affect mediumship, how it can influence mediumship. Whether it is with the ‘Mental Medium’ or Clairvoyante or whether it the Psychometriste or whether it is a Voice Medium - so much we do not know.

 

But the residue, the evidential residue, is so fantastic, that I don’t think any really intelligent person who delves into the is subject and who has read, could doubt the reality of the experiences of many people. Many of them very eminent, scientific individuals - whether it is going back in time to Lodge and Flammarion or even up to the present day. And with their modern techniques or the modern scientific techniques, this I think is the most wonderful thing of all.

 

Now it is possible to really test mediumship, I’m talking now particularly about Physical Mediumship.

Because Physical Mediumship by its very nature has to be produced, invariably - most likely to be successful anyway - in a darkened room. Well of course this is something which, quite naturally and quite rightly, a lot of people who know little or nothing of the subject, condemn straight away, ‘oh well it happens in the dark. You can’t see what’s going on. All sorts of things could be wired up and all sorts of things can be done which will deceive.’ And I would be the last person to deny the fact that Spiritualism has, for the last century, been its own enemy.

 

In fact Spiritualists themselves and mediums, have given to the ‘man in the street’ a wonderful opportunity for condemnation. I do not by this, that it’s always been the fault of the Spiritualists completely and entirely, but the tragedy of mediumship is, that it can be imitated, it can to some extent be copied. And therefore this subject, this ‘Movement’, call it what you will, has had many frauds.

 

Well, there’s one thing that you cannot fraudulently produce - whatever you can produce fraudulently - you cannot provide genuine evidence of survival. This is something that must come of its own accord, naturally and there are many, many, many instances of irrefutable evidence - which cannot be traced back to fraudulent behaviour on the part of the medium. It cannot be traced back to the conscious or subconscious mind of the medium or of the participating sitter or sitters. And as I’ve said, I feel that the reason why Spiritualism has not made the progress that it should have, is not really due so much to the outside world - which is quite naturally sceptical. But more blame lies with we ourselves as Spiritualists - and sometimes as mediums.

 

I don’t want to dwell on this, but I just feel that this is the right time to say these things. It doesn’t do us any harm. It might do us all a lot of good. And I’m not thinking just about here in America, I know very little if anything, about American Spiritualism. I’m really, in a sense, thinking of my own country.

 

Over the years Spiritualist themselves have exposed fraudulent mediums. Invariably indeed, when a medium has been exposed as a fraud, it has been done by the Spiritualists, very rarely by an outside source. But I feel that we, as mediums, have a great responsibility placed upon our shoulders. Whether we be Physical Mediums or whether we be Mental Mediums, we are, by the very nature of things, subject to all sorts of influences, good and bad. And until we rid ourselves, individually and collectively of the worser aspect , until we can stand in front of a audience - I’m talking now from the point of view of a Medium - and say ‘well look, frankly, I just don’t see anything, I don’t hear anything and my powers are not functioning.’

 

Now too much, frankly, is expected of a medium. A medium is always expected to provide ‘the goods’. He’s expected to give the evidence and as we all know, vast numbers of Spiritualists, instead of looking upon this for it is; a great philosophy, a great realisation of truth and endeavouring to follow it out as an individual and collectively, so many are only concerned about if they’re going to receive a message. And quite often the messages that people want are purely materialistic. Now I myself do not look down on anyone who is seeking help, advice or guidance, whether it’s material or spiritual. I have all manner of people come to me, in London, for various reasons and different motives. It’s human and natural. We’re living in a very, very difficult, hard material world and there are times when we get very depressed, that we can’t stand much more and we feel that we need that little extra guidance or comfort or help. And in consequence, it’s human that we go, if we are Spiritualists, to a medium or we go to society or church where a medium is demonstrating and we hope to get a message.

 

This is natural, but I will say and I think this is true to say, that I feel that we have not made progression, as a unit or an organisation - because we are too content to scratch the surface. We are too content to sit with a medium with the object of getting something very personal to ourselves, as, usually or quite often of a material nature; get some advice as to whether we should, shall we say, sell our business or whether we should move our flat or whatever it happens to be. And this drags mediumship down. This affects mediums, it affects mediumship. It brings the medium down onto a level, which they should never be expected to be brought.

 

We should, by our very nature, be striving, for the things of the mind and of the Spirit. We should be aspiring, we should be trying to reach up to those people who give of themselves, to come down to us. Now please don’t misunderstand this statement of mine. This is something I feel very sincerely and very intensely. And another reason I have felt the need, particularly with my own mediumship, to limit the amount of work that I do, to endeavour to work as far as is humanly possible wit people who are sincerely seeking - not just only the personal comfort when they’ve lost their husband or their son - not only that they should be comforted, not only that they should have the great realisation that death is not the end - not only just that, wonderful though it is.

 

But we should realise that we are all Spirits here and now, encased in physical matter, that we are put into this world for a purpose. But sometimes it’s even necessary and essential that we, to some extent, must suffer. That only perhaps through suffering can we find ourselves. Indeed, I think it’s true to say, that until we lose ourselves, we cannot hope to find ourselves.

 

And this I feel is the message of the Spirit. These wonderful souls that come down to us, endeavouring to break down the barrier that we have built, through centuries of foolishness and ignorance. We have built the barrier, not they. We have closed the door on them and they are knocking, at this door of our consciousness - endeavouring to contact us. To link up with us, to try to uplift us, to try to give us a greater understanding and a better philosophy of life - that we might, to some extent, go with them while yet in the flesh and so change this world in which we live - which we are responsible for.

 

 

And this where I feel that mediumship and Spiritualism and Psychical Research, call it what you will, has it’s great and wonderful part to play. If mediums are expected, as they often are, day in and day out, hour in and hour out, as in London, in some of the big societies, where they have twenty-four mediums on the staff, they each have their little cubicles and the arrangements are made that every hour they give a sitting. Well I know that no medium who is genuine, no medium who is honest, can give eight or ten sittings one after the other and produce genuine phenomena. And he panders to the ‘man in the street’, he panders to the woman who wants some little material message or benefit.

I’m not condemning this exactly, although it sounds as if I am. I feel that we have a tremendous and wonderful reality to give to the world and we are prostituting it.

 

We are using it on a material basis and level. We are ruining our mediums, where they exist, expecting too much of them. The mediums have to pay their way like everybody else, they have to pay their rent for their apartment, their gas, their electricity, their telephone bills. They have to do all the things that every other human being has to do and at the end of their lives they have no assurance, they have no grant and no finance, unless they’ve been fortunate enough to save a little for their old age to help them.

 

The average man, he has a regular salary, an assured income. He invariably has, at the end of his life, a source of income from the firm he worked for, etc.

These are material things, I know and perhaps it is that we mediums mustn’t expect too much, but there again, if we are asked to give a sitting and we say well, ‘my fee is…’ so and so…quite often people will raise their eyebrows and think - well if they don’t say it, they will think - ‘oh well I wouldn’t have thought he’d charge a fee’ or if he does ‘as much as he does’. These are material things; ‘the labourer is worthy of his hire’.

But of course any medium worthy of his salt will help anyone without thought of finance.

 

All these factors come into mediumship, you see this is a point and a problem that in fact doesn’t perhaps strike a lot of people very easily or very quickly. The trouble is, that mediums are ultra-sensitive people, they are very much ‘human’ people and in some senses indeed, they’re far more sensitive than the average person. They have to be otherwise they couldn’t be a medium. And they are subject to all sorts of influences, good and bad - more so I would suggest, than the ordinary man in the street who has an ordinary job to do.

 

I’m going on to this point and this subject for a purpose. Because I want, if I can, particularly for those who are on the fringe, who are not sure whether they should delve into this subject - so that they will have, to some extent, a picture, which I feel is a very true one. Spiritualism has a lot to offer, but I’m afraid that unless we do something about ourselves we shan’t get very far - and I don’t think we have. I know there’s much talk about Occultism and Spiritualism and Psychical Research. Much talk about Clairvoyance and all these other things appertaining to the same subject, they’re all part and parcel of the same. And this is a time when it’s probably needed more than any other time in man’s history. Man needs this truth - but what are we giving humanity ?

 

Are we just giving them the little trivial message ? It’s comforting, it’s helpful - and in many instances where people are alone in the world, to have a little message means a great deal. I wouldn’t deny them that. But we have got a tremendous reality of truth, it’s the basis of all religions. Indeed if you were to take away the reality of life after death, there is no point in religion, religion ceases to mean anything. It does not matter which religion you belong to or which faith or which organisation. It’s all based on a life to come. If there is no life to come, religion is pointless, useless and has no meaning.

 

We as Spiritualists are endeavouring, perhaps not as well as we would wish, endeavouring to prove the reality of what all religions are talking about. So you would imagine that religions of all types and denominations would welcome us. They would be so happy to think that there are people who were endeavouring to prove what they had been talking about for centuries. But we all know that this is not so. The vast number of religious bodies and individuals associated with the religious bodies, are invariably - there are exceptions - dead against it.

 

They usually say, among other things, ‘it’s of the devil’. Which always rather surprises me because I have many very sweet, dear, kind friends who are Christians and they know so much about the devil, I sometimes think I should ask them a little bit more. They seem to be so acquainted !

 

(Laughter)