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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781782794134 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Collective Ink |
| Publication date: | 02/27/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 147 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
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The Teen Spirit Guide to Working with Mediumship
By Ceryn Rowntree
John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2014 Ceryn RowntreeAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78279-414-1
CHAPTER 1
Death
It might not be the cheeriest place to start but in a lot of ways, death is where the Spirit world begins. For a lot of people death is what first makes them interested in working with and hearing from Spirit and, to put it bluntly, a lot of being a medium is all about talking to dead people.
The death of a family member, friend, or pet often makes people think more about their own lives and what will happen to them when they die. And the more we think about that, the more we begin to wonder whether those people we have lost are still around, and are still with us.
There are a lot of different ideas about what happens when someone dies, and where they go after that. If you look at things in a very black and white way then all we can say for certain is that death means one day someone is living and breathing as normal, and then suddenly they're not. When someone dies, part of them disappears and all that is left behind is their physical body, no longer breathing or moving. Some people believe that's where life ends, but I know that's not the case. And if you're reading this book the chances are that you have a sneaking suspicion about that too.
Someone I worked with when I first started to develop as a medium used to talk about death as being a change and not an end, and I've always thought that was a good way to describe it.
For those of us who believe in the Spirit world, death is the thing that takes us out of this world and into the next. Our physical bodies are amazing things, but they aren't built to last forever, and for that reason we can only live here for a certain amount of time.
But that doesn't mean that once our physical bodies die everything about us dies. Our physical bodies can walk about every day, eat breakfast, talk out loud, and do hundreds of thousands of other amazing things. But it's not just whether you have brown eyes, perfect teeth or one leg shorter than the other that makes you who you are; it is a different part inside of you – your soul or Spirit.
Your Spirit is made of energy so doesn't live in just one part of your body but throughout your whole self. It is responsible for a lot of what makes you you, and since that Spirit isn't physical it doesn't 'die' like your body but continues to exist, just in a way that those of us still living can't always see or hear quite so easily.
Think of your body like a balloon: if that balloon went down you wouldn't be able to throw it around or see it anymore, but the air that had been inside wouldn't disappear; it would just exist in a different way to how you had been used to seeing it.
What happens when we die?
We all know what happens to our bodies when we die, but what happens to the rest of ourselves is a bit of a mystery. And although I've experienced and been told some of that, I don't suppose I'll know exactly what happens until I head off to the Spirit world myself.
When we die, our Spirit moves out of its physical body like a ball of pure energy which can move much more quickly and easily than it could have before. A lot of people who have witnessed someone dying say they've heard a whooshing sound, seen a light or mist, or have had a very strong feeling that the person was standing next to them; more than likely what they've experienced is the person's soul leaving their physical body and heading out to the Spirit world.
There's a TV movie about the medium James van Praagh that I've always thought describes death really well. It shows a man lying in a hospital bed surrounded by his family; a few seconds in, the monitors around his bed start to beep and the people in the room begin to cry and hug one another. But as they do that a dog runs down the corridor and jumps up onto the bed, where the man sits up within his body and says hello, fussing him and stroking the dog. Then he stands up, looks at the family around his bed and leaves his body behind to follow the dog out into the corridor. Outside is a big crowd of people in all sorts of old-fashioned clothes who are all excited to see him, hugging him and shaking his hand. He starts to talk to them and then walks away down the corridor with them (including the dog!) towards a big bright light.
And the people who greet us from Spirit aren't necessarily people we've known here; often older relatives who passed away long before we were born are among the people coming to meet us, and remind us that they love us and have been watching over us from the Other Side.
I don't suppose we'll ever know exactly what happens when we die until our own time comes, but everything I've ever seen or heard of makes me think it's a lot like that movie scene. And I hope so ... because as sad as I'll be to leave people behind, I do love the idea of all of the friends, family members and pets that I've lost waiting for me when my time comes.
Losing someone close to you
Losing a friend or family member is one of the worst things in life. It can feel as though there's a huge hole left behind and, at least to start with, can seem as though that hole will never get any smaller, and you will never feel any better.
When someone we're close to passes away, it can be hard to remember the happy times without feeling sad or angry that the person is no longer around, and it's often difficult to see how life can ever be the same without such an important person.
I wish I could say that working with the Spirit world makes that sadness go away, and stops us grieving when we lose someone, but unfortunately that's not true. I work with Spiritevery day but it still hurts to know that I won't be able to hug some of the people I care about, or that I won't be able to see them or hear them in the same way I used to.
Sometimes I do get little signs to show that my loved ones in the Spirit world are around and looking after me, and sometimes I even get full messages from them helping me out or trying to make me feel better if I'm going through a tough time. But although signs and messages like that always brighten my day, it's not the same as having a cuddle from my nanna, or talking to my granddad about all of the things I always meant to ask him.
Even the best medium in the world will tell you that our loved ones in the Spirit world don't talk to us 24/7, maybe because they know that we have lots of other things to do with our time – and because they do too – but also because they understand that grieving, and learning to live with loss, is one of the biggest lessons we will ever learn.
Unfortunately, there are no rules on how long it takes our loved ones to come back and say hello from the Other Side, and that can be very hard when often we just want to know that the person we've lost is OK or is still with us. Some Spirits come straight back, passing messages on or leaving little signs that they're still around, but some can take months or even years to come back and say hello. That can be very difficult for the people left behind, and makes many people wonder whether there really is such a thing as life after death.
If someone you love takes a while to let you know they're OK, it's not because there's anything wrong with them or because they don't want to talk to you. Sometimes when people reach the Spirit world they have a lot of work to do, or need to take some time out to heal and recover from whatever caused them to pass over to Spirit. And sometimes the people we love know us better than we know ourselves, and recognise that coming to say hello too soon would be too painful or upsetting for us.
Grief is one of the worst feelings in the world and of course we never ever forget the loved ones we have lost, or get over wanting to see and spend time with them. But over time the pain of losing someone does get better and we become stronger. And for that reason, grief is an important thing to go through. Because if you can go through the worst pain in the world, and stay standing, then you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to.
For me, the death of someone I love is still heartbreaking. But it does help to know that the people I love haven't gone very far and are still about looking after me. Not only that, but I'm certain that the time will come when I see those people again, so it's not really goodbye but more of a see you later and those are always a little bit easier to deal with.
Why I know this for certain
It's all very well for me to tell you that your loved ones are still with you, thinking about you and trying to tell you they love you from the Spirit world. But if you're anything like me, you'll want to know how I know that for certain.
The first death in my family that really, really affected me was my nanna's; my family is very close so losing my amazing nanna when I was eighteen was very painful for everyone. And although I know that I was very lucky to keep her for so long, it didn't make the first birthday without her 8 AM Happy birthday to you phone call or the first Sunday without her baking any easier.
About nine months after my nanna died I had the most amazing dream about her; I remember walking into her kitchen and seeing her by the stove. In the dream I started crying and she gave me a big hug and asked why I was upset; she was right there so there was no need to be sad. She then sat me down at the table so we could have a good chat and a catch up. That was lovely, but what made this dream amazing was that it was so real; I couldn't just see my nanna, or hear her voice, I could smell her perfume and her hairspray, feel the wool of her cardigan, the papery softness of her skin and her just-permed hair in ways that I thought I had completely forgotten. I woke up convinced that it hadn't just been a dream, but an actual meeting with my nanna.
But that isn't the only time she's talked to me while I was sleeping; a few years later I was going through a tough time when I had another vivid dream about my nanna. In the dream she told me everything would be OK but I just carried on complaining. Eventually, she drew a symbol in front of us and told me that it meant patience and faith, and that those were my lessons in this lifetime so that's why I just had to sit back and wait, but believe her when she said that everything would be OK. When I woke up I could picture the symbol she'd shown me, but since I've never been the best artist had no way of getting it down on paper. So instead I went to the computer and typed "patience, faith, Japanese" into Google images. Imagine how surprised I was when the exact same symbol popped up on the screen!
And my nanna isn't the only one who has proved that she's still with me. A few years ago a friend of mine passed over suddenly and unexpectedly. Although he hadn't been one of my best friends, he was a good mate who I'd spent some good times with over the years, and we were all devastated to say goodbye to him. At the office where I worked, a book of remembrance was set up and one night; before I headed off to the spiritualist church I went to every week, I wrote a message in the book. A few hours later a medium at church came to me with a young man who'd passed over suddenly and very recently, and described my friend perfectly ... then told me almost word for word what I'd written in the book.
That same friend was a huge fan of the band Elbow, and we both loved their song "One Day like This". Since he died, almost without fail, that song comes on the radio or TV whenever I'm feeling low or in need of a hug, or whenever I'm about to do something really important.
I could go on and on and on with these stories, and happily would! But although it's nice to hear about the experiences that have convinced other people about life after death, the only thing you can ever truly believe in is the proof you get for yourself. When you have your own experience that makes you think "yes, that's the person I lost definitely coming back to tell me that they're OK and that they're still with me," that's when you will well and truly be able to believe in the Spirit world.
CHAPTER 2The Spirit world
We've talked a lot about Spirits and the Spirit world, but it's difficult to really understand the idea of life after death without having an idea what life on the Other Side is like. It's another of those things that none of us will ever really know until we get there ourselves but the messages I've had, as well as what I've read, heard, and seen myself in dreams or meditations have given me an idea of the basics.
The Spirit world has lots of different names; the Other Side, Home, Heaven, but all of those (and any others you hear along the way) mean the same thing; they talk about the place where our Spirits come from and where they go back to after our physical bodies die.
Every creature on Earth (and probably even creatures on other planets too, but that's another story!) is a Spirit. While we are living on Earth, that Spirit lives inside our physical body so it can experience human life and learn lessons that wouldn't be possible anywhere else.
Imagine your body like a car that takes you on the journey through life. You need that car to visit all the places and do all the things that the driver inside (your Spirit) has planned for your journey but the driver gets to experience that journey and decide where the car should go and when.
But while your physical body can be easily seen and touched, your Spirit is different. It is made up of energy and just like the light that comes from a bulb or the heat that comes from an oven, that energy can't always be seen, heard or felt on its own. In the same way our bodies must have food, air and water to work properly, our Spirits need other things instead, like love and positivity.
Sometimes when we're sleeping or meditating, or if someone is particularly ill, the Spirit takes a journey away from its physical body for what is sometimes called an out of body experience. This doesn't happen to everyone, and usually happens when someone is unconscious because for a person to act and think normally, their Spirit needs to be inside of their body.
When a Spirit moves about on its own it can travel anywhere it wants to as fast as it wants. Think about the teleportation you see in sci-fi movies, or apparition in Harry Potter – in the Spirit world you need only think of where you want to be and there you are!
There is a saying that our loved ones in Spirit are only ever a thought away. That is partly because in the Spirit world we can go anywhere we want with only a thought but also because just like Spirits, thoughts are energy. And although we can't always see or hear them, in the Spirit world thoughts are no different from the things you say out loud and your Guides, helpers and loved ones are always listening out for your thoughts and keeping an eye on you in case you need them.
That doesn't mean they watch or listen to everything you do or say though ... I don't know about you but my thoughts are pretty boring most of the time, and I really don't think my Guides want to see me on the toilet, or first thing in the morning! But just like a good friend who's always there when you call or a text, your Spirit friends are only a thought away if you need to ask them for help.
Just like our souls, the Spirit world is pure energy, so it doesn't have the same rules about time and space that we have here. Not only can we go wherever we want just by thinking it, but because our souls never die, we don't have to worry about rushing around to get things done by a certain time.
That's not to say that we sit around doing nothing all day ... imagine how bored we would get if we did that forever! We all have jobs to do in the Spirit world, although they're very different from jobs here. Everyone works because they want to and because they enjoy their jobs rather than because they have to, and all Spirit jobs are done to help others, or to help make the Spirit world an even more beautiful and wonderful place.
Another big difference is that there is no money in the Spirit world, which can take a little bit of time to get our heads around for those of us here on Earth who spend quite a lot of time thinking and worrying about money! In the Spirit world, though, we can create anything we want just by thinking about it so don't need money. We can do or enjoy whatever we want to just by thinking about it and often, when we stop trying to impress other people or be part of the in crowd, we start to realise that we don't really need that much after all.
When someone we love passes away, leaving their friends and family members behind, it's easy to worry that they will be alone on the Other Side. But our friends and family in Spirit aren't just the people and animals we know from this life but also the ones we've met in our previous lives, so we have more friends and family there than we would ever have time to keep up with in the physical world!
Animals are an important part of the Spirit world too and, just like people, the Spirit world is home to all the animals that have ever lived or will ever live. So, along with all of the cats, dogs, goldfish, rabbits, cows, sheep, elephants and tigers you would expect to see, there are extinct animals like dodos and dinosaurs, and others like dragons and unicorns that we have only ever heard about in stories and legends. And since there is no anger or aggression in the Spirit world, and no need for anyone to eat, all of these animals – including people – live quite peacefully alongside one another. I love the idea of that and, although I don't want to go to the Spirit world for a long time yet, it's something I'm really excited to see.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Teen Spirit Guide to Working with Mediumship by Ceryn Rowntree. Copyright © 2014 Ceryn Rowntree. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
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.
Table of Contents
Introduction x
Chapter 1 Death 1
What happens when we die? 2
Losing someone close to you 3
Why I know this for certain 5
Chapter 2 The Spirit world 8
Spirits 11
Angels 13
Nature Spirits 14
Ghosts
Chapter 3 Mediumship 16
The psychic senses 17
Developing your senses 21
Different ways to use mediumship 24
Chapter 4 People 26
The most important person of all 31
Your own signs 34
Your intuition 35
Chapter 5 Protection 36
What are we protecting ourselves from? Intention 38
How to protect yourself 39
When to protect yourself 42
Protecting other people and places
Looking after yourself in other ways 43
Chapter 6 Opening up and closing down to Spirit 45
Chakras
How to open up 48
How to close down 49
Tuning in your energies 50
Grounding 54
Chapter 7 Meditation 55
Basic breathing meditation 58
Basic guided or visualisation meditation 59
Meditation in everyday life 60
Daydream 61
Chapter 8 How do you know when you're sensing Spirit? 62
How it feels
Hearing voices 63
Seeing things 64
Other senses 65
Dreams 66
Animals around you 67
Messages as they come through 68
Protection 69
Chapter 9 Meeting and working with your Guides 70
What are Guides?
Who are your Guides? 71
If we all have Guides then why can life be so hard? 72
New Guides
Guardian Angels 73
Totems
Elemental Guides 75
Recognising and working with your Guides 76
Meeting your Guides 77
Chapter 10 Developing your connection 81
Signs from Spirit 82
Your own signs 83
Give a message 84
Don't be afraid to start small 85
Feeling alone 86
Chapter 11 Being a responsible medium 89
The five golden rules of passing messages on from Spirit 90
When to pass on messages 95
Emotions 96
How to give messages 97
Alcohol 98
Money 99
Look after number one 101
Chapter 12 Working in a way that's right for you 102
Spiritual teachers
Doing what feels right 103
Working when it feels right 104
Working with other people 105
Trust 106
Chapter 13 Bringing Spirit into your everyday life 108
Asking for help and guidance
Signs 110
Protection 111
The bigger picture 113
Connecting through other mediums
Getting in touch with your own Spirit 114
Chapter 14 Different ways of working 115
Cards
Scrying 117
Dowsing 118
Automatic writing 120
Psychic art 122
Psycho me try- Healing 123
Animal communication 125
Channelling or trance mediumship 126
Ouija boards 127
Chapter 15 Next steps 129
Spiritualist churches
Development circles 130
Other development classes 131