My first up close and personal encounter with Spiritualism was during the late 1970's in Montreal. I was in my early twenties and utterly fascinated by the prospect that an actual religion had sprung up around the phenomenon of spirit communication.
When I heard of a member church in downtown Montreal, I hustled down there one evening to check it out.
Seated at the front of the hall that night was the medium, Dr. Marilyn Rossner. This stood out in my mind as she was also a teacher at the CEGEP (Quebec style community college) I had attended, and something of a local psychic celebrity. I believe she gave a talk that night and then spirit messages were delivered to various members of the congregation, at least that's how I recall it. I don't remember any singing or anything else vaguely reminiscent of my prior church experiences growing up as a Roman Catholic. There were no spirit messages for me, and I was not compelled to return.
My recent attendance of a spiritualist church in California was a very different type of experience. The church was located in a small, unassuming, stucco bungalow. The congregation numbered less than twenty. There was lots of singing from a hymnal (to raise the vibrational level and attract spirits), a group recitation of the principle beliefs of Spiritualism, a short talk from a minister, a silent healing meditation, passing of the collection plate and, at the end of the service, spirit messages and channeling.
Prior to the silent healing meditation, they asked if anyone present was currently experiencing pain or physical discomfort. I raised my hand and was chosen to go into a back room for a private one-on-one session with a student healer. I was asked to take a seat and as I sat quietly meditating, the healer silently held her hands over various points of my body. At no time was I physically touched or asked to do anything. I wasn't even asked where or what was my ailment. As I sat there in silence, a cold feeling came over the crown of my head. At first I thought it was the room's air conditioning, but soon realized that it was not. The cold was developing at the exact place where the healer's hands hovered above my body. Wherever those hands were placed, the numbing feeling followed. While I found all of this quite interesting, it was doing nothing for the lower back pain I was feeling. Moments after thinking this, the numbing sensation traveled from the various parts of my body where the healer had held her hands and gathered itself at the base of my spine. My back pain disappeared. For the rest of the day, I felt a cold numbness at that spot. That was over four weeks ago, and the pain has not returned. Whenever I mentally check in with the base of my spine, I once again feel that cold, numbing sensation. Considering I have had constant low grade back pain in that area for years, I am duly amazed and impressed.
I am not the first mystery writer to be fascinated with the paranormal realm. Here is some rare footage of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery series speaking about his involvement with Spiritualism.
When I heard of a member church in downtown Montreal, I hustled down there one evening to check it out.
Seated at the front of the hall that night was the medium, Dr. Marilyn Rossner. This stood out in my mind as she was also a teacher at the CEGEP (Quebec style community college) I had attended, and something of a local psychic celebrity. I believe she gave a talk that night and then spirit messages were delivered to various members of the congregation, at least that's how I recall it. I don't remember any singing or anything else vaguely reminiscent of my prior church experiences growing up as a Roman Catholic. There were no spirit messages for me, and I was not compelled to return.
My recent attendance of a spiritualist church in California was a very different type of experience. The church was located in a small, unassuming, stucco bungalow. The congregation numbered less than twenty. There was lots of singing from a hymnal (to raise the vibrational level and attract spirits), a group recitation of the principle beliefs of Spiritualism, a short talk from a minister, a silent healing meditation, passing of the collection plate and, at the end of the service, spirit messages and channeling.
Prior to the silent healing meditation, they asked if anyone present was currently experiencing pain or physical discomfort. I raised my hand and was chosen to go into a back room for a private one-on-one session with a student healer. I was asked to take a seat and as I sat quietly meditating, the healer silently held her hands over various points of my body. At no time was I physically touched or asked to do anything. I wasn't even asked where or what was my ailment. As I sat there in silence, a cold feeling came over the crown of my head. At first I thought it was the room's air conditioning, but soon realized that it was not. The cold was developing at the exact place where the healer's hands hovered above my body. Wherever those hands were placed, the numbing feeling followed. While I found all of this quite interesting, it was doing nothing for the lower back pain I was feeling. Moments after thinking this, the numbing sensation traveled from the various parts of my body where the healer had held her hands and gathered itself at the base of my spine. My back pain disappeared. For the rest of the day, I felt a cold numbness at that spot. That was over four weeks ago, and the pain has not returned. Whenever I mentally check in with the base of my spine, I once again feel that cold, numbing sensation. Considering I have had constant low grade back pain in that area for years, I am duly amazed and impressed.
I am not the first mystery writer to be fascinated with the paranormal realm. Here is some rare footage of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery series speaking about his involvement with Spiritualism.