Out with the Old, in with the New

I hope you had a great Easter break? I had the Bank Holidays and weekend off and the weather was sort of okay, at least it was dry. A 21st birthday party and other social events kept us busy and chilled out and the weather has miraculously decided to get better here. This post Easter week has been pleasant and warm - so much so that smog is a problem in the south UK with industrial pollutants from Europe, domestic road pollution and Saharan desert sand being deposited upon us, it makes for difficult breathing for some. 

A break down this weekend coming will see fresher conditions, little in the way of pollution and some rain.

Richie Benaud, OBE

I was sorry to hear of the death of Australian Richie Benaud today. He was 84 and had been suffering from skin cancer, something he had campaigned to protect people against for years. This man was a blast from my past and was the voice of cricket on UK television for many years on BBC and then Channel 4. His melodious gentle Aussie accent was coloured by a dry wit and long periods of silence from the commentary box as he left the viewers to enjoy the game and the atmosphere without lots of forced waffle and drivel. His co-commentator for many years was Yorkshireman, the late Jim Laker, himself a spinner (for England) and still holder of the record for taking 19 wickets in a single test match.

Richie Benaud had credibility too. He captained Australia to three Ashes test series wins and took nearly 250 test wickets as a spinner. His honesty meant that the listener could enjoy the game knowing that he praised good cricket from whatever team and criticised it by equal measure without fear or favour.

For him the score book is complete and the pavilion doors close for the last time.

What did Easter mean for you? Did you celebrate it in a religious context or with traditional pagan rites such as buying  Easter eggs and suchlike? Perhaps you mixed the two. I missed the funeral of a good friend recently through no fault of my own which I regret, but I have happy memories of him which will always be around.  I would have liked to celebrate his life and what he gave to people. In the same way that I guess most religions celebrate the life of Christ and give thanks for the sacrifice he gave for us and his rising so that we may live again. 

I know of one religion that sees this as a sad mournful occasion with grey and dark overtones. What a pity. Spiritualism has so much connection to religion although seemingly at a distance for some sometimes. Some who follow my faith don't like to associate themselves with God or religion at all, yet believe in Angels (as I do) who of course are messenger of guess who? God. Nothing is perfect I have learned.

I don't like the orthodox church particularly but it gives people faith and comfort - good for them. I guess I have seen too much hypocrisy to impress me any more. I still have both my Methodist and then my later Church of England christening, but these in my view have now lapsed as I have left their ways behind. God is here, in my heart, God is all around us, I don't have to go to church to believe in the divine. I am a good person, do good things; I think I'm a good citizen, I care for others, I'm even philanthropic now and then where I can afford it. I love my partner, my children and our family. I pray - to the God I understand and love.

Importantly, I respect others love for their religion even though some of them are a little at odds with modern living. Religion has damaged me in some ways and recovering is hard but with the love and support of my partner and family, my live is becoming more fulfilled spiritually.  There is life after religion!

Chat soon

Ta-ra

It's What's in your Soul that Counts

I’ve been fortunate to have had a week off work taking a break. The weather has been reasonably kind for the time of year and it’s been nice to see the daffodils out and spring manifesting itself in so many ways not least of which people starting to feel better.

I’ve been helping a friend decorate her flat. Now I am not a decorator. Never have been, but I can slosh some paint around and I am an average DIY-er so I can put things on walls and a proud moment came after I laid a vinyl floor and it looked spot on. I took a bit of a methodical approach to this never-before-done task and it turned out well. My knees however did suffer!

However after three solid days, I’d had enough. I paid a visit to York with my friend Linda and went to Hornsea, just on the East Yorkshire coast to the Freeport, a small shopping centre on the site of the former Hornsea Pottery site.

I have achieved some good things this week and that includes spending a small budget on a new set of clothes. 

On Saturday night I went to see medium Derek Acorah do a demonstration at the beautiful small Plowright Theatre in Scunthorpe which is in Northern Lincolnshire, a town famous for its steelworks and less famous for its football team.

My followers will know I am a psychic medium of small skill however, seeing someone with big skill is always interesting. Mr Acorah is a fairly ordinary bloke. A family man with a background as a professional footballer a few years ago, he has had a rocky ride professionally as a medium because of his association with a television programme doing psychic investigations. I think, not to put too fine a point on it, lost his way a little from an outsider’s perspective and perhaps his reputation among some suffered as a result.

However, above all, Derek is just a decent, hard-working, nice man who is now going back to what he does best, plying his trade doing public demonstrations to small audiences (the Plowright has about 500 seats) as a very good journeyman medium. My assessment of the demonstration is that he gave audience members a lot of evidence about them that he could not have possibly guessed through cold reading, cheating or any other method and this came through having been delivered with compassion to those he gave readings for along with is gentle humour, occasionally laughing at himself.

I have been to many mediumship demonstrations over the years and I have never had a message from spirit publicly. Frankly, there are more people that need compassion and hope and their faith restored than I.

None the less, it made me think about my faith again as experiences often lead me to do. I don’t think my faith can be found with a label or readily pulled off the shelf. I guess that my idea of a divine being is unlike most people, other than a few Spiritualists perhaps because the thing is, it’s personal to me, to my personality, my experiences and how I can cope with the logical side of modern day life and living as well as the less tangible but equally as powerful spiritual way of life.

The problem in the UK however is that the current Government doesn’t want too many people thinking for themselves and esoteric subjects are becoming isolated and frowned upon. EU legislation states apparently that mediums and psychics must always tell their client or audience that their work is for entertainment purposes only. My insurers tell me that this is what I have to do when I work.

This is a gross insult and a slap in the face to me personally as it attacks my faith by minimising it and implying it that it is a sham to titillate audiences with. This upsets me deeply.

Of course there have been mediums and psychics who have been fraudulent and taking advantage of unsuspecting and vulnerable people. This is a despicable act and the law can deal with such people. Yes, the public deserve protection. However, the idea that what I believe in in my heart is just entertainment is abominable. The high churches across the globe despise psychics and mediums for their faith and beliefs. Why because it challenges that with which the grater populous of the world has been controlled and brainwashed with for years.

Now let me say before you storm off in high dudgeon, that I wholly respect an individual’s belief system no matter what that may be. You have one, good for you. If you have faith, then join the club, so have I. What upsets me is the establishment belief system that impresses itself upon people and uses legislation to tell people what they can or can’t believe in and this of course cuts across a whole swathe of beliefs, faiths, religions, cults etc.

For now what I would say without prolonging the argument is believe in what you believe in, have faith because to have faith and belief is the future, but leave others to believe in what they want to believe in. Some faiths damage people, that’s what they set out to do, others do damage unwittingly and indirectly as this blog will reveal in due course, but what’s important is how you feel, how you conduct yourself in society and what lies within your heart and soul.

So, on a lighter note, enjoy your week, look forward to spring setting itself in in the weeks to come and make it a positive week too! Smile

Chat soon

Ta-ra.