Beginner's Guide to Mediumship: How to Contact Loved Ones Who Have Crossed Over

by Larry Dreller

Overview

For centuries, people have been fascinated by the power and secrets of mediums. And today, many are interested in making contact with the spirit world themselves--either to communicate with loved ones, heal the sick, or discover knowledge-- but don't know how. Yet, as Larry Dreller writes, "At birth we all are given the gift of seeing beyond this humble Earth plane into other dimensions, but as we grow older we cast this natural ability aside. Mediums did not lose this ability and are people who act as intermediaries between this world and the 'other side'."

Both an introduction to this phenomenon as well as a workbook that guides the reader through exercises to reawaken their abilities, the Beginner's Guide to Mediumship shows how to develop spiritual powers, conduct seances, harness the power of prophecy, comfort and heal others, see auras, and more.

Drawing on his own experience, Dreller focuses on pure and practical day-to-day applications of mediumship and how they can enrich readers lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609254667
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	04/15/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	640 KB

About the Author

Larry Dreller has been involved in seance mediumship since he was a teenager. He has lead seance study groups and conducts private seance sessions.

Read an Excerpt

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDIUMSHIP

How To Contact Loved Ones Who Have Crossed Over

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By Larry Dreller

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

Copyright © 1997 Larry Dreller
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-57863-011-0

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CHAPTER 1

Why be a Medium?

Death is an entrance to experience rather than an exit from it.

—Charles Lindbergh

Why would anyone want to make contact with the spirit world in the first place? What possible benefit could come from communication with the deceased? These two simple questions are at the heart of mediumship. Frequently, a biblical admonishment against spirit contact is quoted:

For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing.... their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.... [T]here is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave (Ecclesiastes, 9:5,6,10).

But the grave is not the end! Some faiths believe that at death the soul is released. Forget the traditional notion of a withered shell waiting the moment of resurrection. The soul—our very essence—departs the body at death.

Now comes the first test in your quest for THE answer. Where does that energy, that certain, unique life force, go? Ask the hundreds of thousands of people across our planet who have had a near-death experience. The medical community's cold, simplistic solution is that a secretion of brain chemicals floods the brain with delusions as the brain is denied oxygen, saying that the people who were pronounced clinically dead, then later revived, were never really dead in the first place, their stories being merely remnants of dreams.

Again, why would we want to communicate with those who have passed on to the other side—if there is such a place? The medium's self-assured answers would be:

1. To comfort the bereaved; to lessen pain and guilt;

2. To pray for, and assist, the departed soul in its transition;

3. Knowledge;

4. To negate fear of death and establish peace of mind for the living;

5. To open communication and dialogue with the spirit world;

6. To reveal to the living that there are possible paybacks or rewards for mortal actions;

7. The development of prophesy;

8. For healing.

And then you might ask why the departed would want to enter into communication with the living.

1. "I'm okay" messages to loved ones;

2. "Relax, you're going to be all right when it's your time to join us";

3. To give help and assistance;

4. Interest and curiosity in the living;

5. To settle unfinished business left behind.

Most people at one time or another think about their personal mortality, and then, out of fear, indifference, or ignorance, push the greatest of all adventures to the side. The medium does not. It's not a morbid preoccupation with death that drives the medium, it is a never-ending thirst for knowledge and a profound willingness to help others. True mediumship can be a discipline that can be as exciting and new as an explorer's first discovery. This incredible psychic gift is not satanic, sinful, or a waste of time or energy, but, instead, is an enlightened, progressive path that leads one to find the answers that have bewildered and frightened human beings since they were first able to reason. Why shiver in the darkness of night when you could be warming yourself in glorious sunshine?

Several years ago I conducted my own personal straw poll, attempting to ascertain why people became mediums and psychics. I attended workshops and countless lectures, read shelves of books, researched related articles, all the while trying to determine if there was a common thread as to why they decided to take the plunge into the field. Listed below are the responses that came up with the most frequency. Could some of these fit your interests in mediumship?

1. Felt they were psychically gifted;

2. Have had unexplained "experiences";

3. Curious;

4. Afraid of death, and this was the way of combating this fear;

5. Want to believe;

6. Search for meaning;

7. Want to make contact with the departed;

8. Desire to help others;

9. Adventurous;

10. Belief in the eternal progress of the soul.

These were the most common responses, however I ran into other motives:

1. Excitement;

2. Escape from daily, mundane routine;

3. Research;

4. Exposure and debunking of psychics and mediums;

5. Desire to be the center of attention.

And sorry to say, there were some that simply had a screw loose. It is also interesting to note that the majority of mediums I've met and read about have been women, coming from a traditional Protestant background, with many having a college education, and most holding mainstream employment.

Personal Notes

The birth of my interest in mediumship occurred when I was a teenager. When I was 14, I had a series of unusual dreams, now mainly forgotten, but a few so vivid that I can recall detail for detail. In these dreams, I met people I had never known. One dapper gentleman, dressed in a houndstooth suit and white spats, appeared regularly in my dreams, usually delivering lectures on the importance of homework and imparting advice on how to get along with family members. One day really stands out. My maternal grandmother was showing me a very old family picture album I hadn't seen before. In it were faded pictures of some people that I had actually seen in my dreams, but one picture in particular struck me: it was the dapper gentleman who had hounded me about my homework and family relationships. It was my grandfather who had passed over in 1932!

My grandmother was amazed that I knew so much about our deceased relatives, and in particular her husband, my grandfather. If she had only known that I was also privy to several very delicate family secrets, I'm sure she would have been quite upset, however I was moved to keep them to myself because it would have been very difficult to explain my inside sources. I must also state that I was at no time unnerved by these experiences. I know I should have been but, for some reason, I simply put them aside to be dealt with at a later time.

As I grew into my late teens I believe the dreams ceased; at least I cannot recall them—or there was nothing startling to recall. My next brush with the paranormal occurred when I had gone to the funeral service of my grandmother 's best friend. I had been busily twitching in the pew, hoping the morbid service would quickly end because I had to get home to change for a hot date that Saturday afternoon.

I then saw her, my grandmother's friend. She was standing to the back of her open coffin, looking down at her physical remains. She was fashionably dressed in a light blue dress with white gloves, white purse, and a white picture hat, all in an early 1950s style. She looked freshly-young with a wide beaming smile spread across her pretty face, and she had the posture of a much younger woman. She was sort of transparent and yet solid.

I looked around the overflowing room to see if others had seen her, and they apparently had not, and I knew at that exact moment our concept of death was wrong. Halfway through the tedious stream of eulogies, she literally evaporated in a "puff" of whitish-colored fog.

For some reason these encounters hadn't jarred me in the least, probably because I was a high school student with a lot of life to live—proms, dates, teen stuff, and the usual hormonal surges that young men go through.

Then the big jolt happened! A numbing encounter with the spirit world occurred when I was a sailor in the U.S. Navy. Our ship had moored alongside a decommissioned World War II ship in the San Diego docks. This ship, with numerous other warships, had been mothballed (preserved) for years in the eventuality of need for some future war. Our mission was to strip the ship of anything that could be salvaged prior to its being reduced into scrap metal for sale to Japan.

For three days, particularly when I was on night watch, my hair would almost stand on end. The large dark hulk of the deserted ship next to ours was downright spooky. When it became my unit's turn to open and search the bridge area of the ship, specifically the Quartermaster's storage locker, I hung safely to the back of two shipmates who opened the hatch (door).

Everything was stored neatly on shelves: sextants, foul weather gear, signal flags, charts, binoculars, flare guns, and other equipment. On the bulkhead (wall) was a perfectly preserved picture of movie actress Rita Hayworth, dressed in a revealing nightgown. My nerve endings now tingled with this violation of the past.

Later that night, I was on deck watch, assigned to the bridge of the deserted ship. While making my first series of rounds, I heard the faint sounds of music coming from the Quartermaster's storage locker. After forcing myself to open the hatch, I made contact. I can still vividly recall the shock I felt that night so many years ago.

Two sailors dressed in regulation denim workshirts and pants were laughing while they stood over a third sailor who was kneeling on the deck with playing cards spread out before him. The music coming from the old radio receiver was vintage 40s dance band music, and it filled the locker storeroom.

I stood, it seemed for years, trying to catch my breath, then screwed up enough courage to demand what they were doing in the storeroom. The three sailors immediately stopped laughing, looked directly into my eyes, I don't remember how long, then "faded" in micro-seconds. I had enough composure not to panic, and I barely remembered switching off the radio, placing the playing cards back in their box—but not before I stuffed the Queen of Hearts into my chest pocket, which I kept for years as a reminder of that evening. I am still curious as to why the cards didn't dematerialize with the sailors.

I later learned that this ship had been in several combat missions in the South Pacific during World War II, and had suffered considerable crew casualties.

My motive in recounting these very personal experiences is to show the framework on which I built my initial interests in mediumship. These encounters led me to a door I had never seen before. It would take me several years to place my hand on the doorknob and open that door willingly, but eventually I did open the door, never once regretting the rooms I entered.

The most important question to ask yourself must be: is mediumship for me? You must search your own personality for the answer, and if you make the commitment to proceed, you must, without reservation, BELIEVE! The process is long, requiring much study, practice, and a very strong ability to meditate for long periods of time. But I guarantee that when you reach the level of having enough knowledge and practice, you will totally reframe your ideas of this life.

CHAPTER 2

The Spirit World

Oh, never a doubt but somewhere I shall wake.

—Rupert Brooke

Human beings are host to two bodies, the physical and the etheric. The basic miracle of the human body boils down to an electro-biochemical mechanism composed of quickly vibrating atoms, which on sight and touch appear to be firmly solid in nature. However, with illness, homicide, trauma, and old age, the solid physical body's complicated atomic structure ceases to vibrate and the body disintegrates, the atoms moving elsewhere on our planet.

The etheric soul, or spirit double, then detaches from the physical body and commences its next phase of evolution—the journey to the various astral planes, taking its mind and essence with it. (See figure 1, page 10.)

Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, it is obviously more involved than that. Let's go back to the beginning—birth. At birth, every person has a physical and etheric, or spirit, body. The spirit body is an exact duplicate of the physical body except it can never be injured or disintegrate. It is a perfect body, regardless of the human body's condition. It is attached by a cord to the physical body, head-to-head; spiritualists call it the "Silver Cord."

The spirit body covers the physical body completely, atoms vibrating at such a high rate that it cannot be detected by the physical body's five senses—touch, taste, smell, sight, or hearing.

This spirit body is anatomically perfect, and is never deaf or blind, ill or deformed, and when it detaches on the final journey, it grows more beautiful and perfect, surrounded in a dazzling white light that appears to match the sun's late afternoon brilliance. This double is only older if the spirit wants it to be.

As a side note, if the person, while alive, was a dissolute individual who led a particularly decadent life, the etheric appearance will be dim and washed in a cloudy light, appearing withered, wrinkled, and lacking in energy. This frightening appearance can sometimes be observed if it appears on our Earth plane during hauntings in the form of a ghost, apparition, doppelgänger, poltergeist, or wraith.

The mind, not the physical brain, is part of the spirit body, along with all the memory that was acquired while the person was alive. The soul's intelligence will be greatly enhanced on the astral planes, but also remember that spirits were once human beings, and hence they took what native talents they had with them; in other words, a less than brilliant individual over here will be less than brilliant over there—at least for a while. We will always take our complete mental and moral package with us.

Spirits, if they wish, can evidence the same sensations that we do. Eating, drinking, sleeping, sex, and bodily functions are, however, strictly of our own primitive plane, but interest and participation in sports, hobbies, art, music, reading, dancing, recreation, etc., can continue. It has been noted over and over again during spirit contact that they have said we are the dead ones and they are the living ones.

There are infinite numbers of spirits on the astral planes; think of all the people who have ever lived just on this planet alone, and you will begin to understand how populated these planes really are. However, in your lifetime, and if you become a medium, you will contact only a handful of these spirits.

Most of us, as mediums, will have more than one personal spirit encounter. The attraction of more spirit entities will increase as we expand our mediumistic reach. All humans have at least one spirit watching over them from birth—a spirit guide or guardian angel. When personal or medical problems become distressful, a team, or "band," of these spirits is attracted. Sometimes we are personally connected to them—remote ancestors, deceased relatives, friends, or, many times, simply spirit beings who wish to help us.

It is a great honor for them, and for us, to be attracted to each other. By giving assistance they will progress spiritually on their plane, and if we "listen" to their guidance, we can be assisted in solving our problems.

The Spirit Team

The active, advanced medium can usually be assisted by an entire team of spirits. Frequently this entourage includes a protector or control, who is an advanced guide, who can place a perimeter of protection around the medium and other individuals who have made contact. These attracted controls were once of similar or like body chemistry, and serve to protect us against unwanted entities. They are the translators, or go-betweens, for this plane and other planes; they frequently relay messages back and forth, acting as the intermediary between the medium and other spirits during the seance.

Many times these controls work with the medium during his or her entire lifetime, and a close bonding takes place. Although these spirits have no gender, they can appear to us as male or female.

On this team will be a doctor, who is the leader of the band of spirits, and who is also the master teacher, one who is extremely advanced in knowledge and ability. This spirit draws upon the talent of his or her plane and assigns spirits for each mission. This "doctor" also works on the health and well-being of the living during healing sessions. This advanced leader also helps in spiritual growth and development.

A chemist is also active on this team. The chemist insures the proper mixture of energy and chemicals for health and auras, particularly during healing. Other spirit team members might appear if prophecy, music, writing, or the general arts are called on, very similar to the muses of ancient Greece and Rome.

The guides that help us overcome adversities in our daily living and difficult health phases are the joy guides. These cherub-like spirits are children who raise the vibrations of happiness and humor when we are down and out. They also help us keep an even keel during particularly upsetting periods of stress.

All of these positive spirit entities can be seen or heard by us when we are in meditational trances or deep sleep. Sometimes they make their presence known to us by whispering in our ears, stroking our hair, or by giving us premonitions or intuitive thoughts. Other signs of their presence are a sudden "cobweb" feeling across the face, a floral fragrance, or a sudden gust or draft of warm air. These can be either friendly assurances or warnings of danger. You might also see a sudden shadow out of the corner of your eye, or feel an immediate urge to leave a room or place.

Sleep is where most of us receive direct messages from spirit contact, and whether we remember or not, our brain records these contacts. If possible, always try to immediately record these messages or thoughts when you awaken.
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDIUMSHIP by Larry Dreller. Copyright © 1997 Larry Dreller. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Preface          

Acknowledgments          

Chapter 1. Why be a Medium?          

Chapter 2. The Spirit World          

Chapter 3. Meditation and Mediumship          

Chapter 4. The Medium          

Chapter 5. The Seance          

Chapter 6. Prophecy          

Chapter 7. Healing          

Chapter 8. Auras          

Chapter 9. Reincarnation          

Chapter 10. Pieces of the Puzzle          

Bibliography          

Index          

About the Author