How Spirit Conspired to Link Scole (UK) and Italy to Create ISARTOP and ASSMPI

This article was inspired by our Spirit Team who, after an excellent group mediumship sitting, had dug into our stored historical archives, taken out an old copy of ‘Psychic World’ and then – almost like an apport – deposited it on the table in the middle of our ‘Experimental Room’. The publication contained an article about the launch of the ambitious ISARTOP organzation (International Scientific Association (for) Research (into) Transcendental Objective Phenomena) in 2005, a story which deserves to be revisited.

It all started one sunny afternoon in May 2004. Sandra, my lovely wife, had a night job with a local electronics company in Diss, Norfolk, and returned from her night shift to our farmhouse home in Scole for a well-earned sleep. I was on my way to work and unlikely to return until 6 pm or later. However, on this particular day, I had a sudden unexplained feeling that I needed to get home early. Arriving home at about 3 pm, I was extremely surprised to see a group of about 8 people standing in our driveway. At this time of day, Sandra was still in bed, so I suggested that they join me for a chat next door in the beautiful old Scole Inn (built in 1666) until Sandra could join us.

I soon discovered that these 8 people were Italian. Although they were all strangers, they were very friendly and seemed to know an awful lot about the 5-year long ‘Scole Experiment’ in the 1990’s that had taken place at our ‘Street Farmhouse’ in Scole. They sat in a home circle to develop Physical Phenomena back in Grosseto, Italy, and the group included well-known physical medium Marcello Bacci who regularly demonstrated his DRV (Direct Radio Voice) Mediumship in his centre. He was there with his wife Marina, two friends; Alessandro Zampieri; Amerigo Festa (a lawyer) and their two wives. The seventh person was media personality Emanuel Toriello, who seemed to be the self-appointed ‘leader’ and spokesman for the group. His wife was also there.

Spirit works in mysterious ways

Marcello Bacci

The elderly Marcello Bacci was a veteran researcher in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). He knew Latvian writer and parapsychologist Konstantin Raudive and had actually inherited Raudive’s equipment. His particular expertise lay in DRV, since he had been getting direct radio voices for many years through an old-fashioned valve radio in his Grosseto Centre/Laboratory. Bacci demonstrated these voices on a weekly basis to around 70 or 80 people (mostly bereaved mothers, who were often able to speak a few words to their ‘deceased’ children) without ever charging a penny for his work. He told me that for some time prior to their surprise visit to Scole, direct spirit voices through his radio had been requesting that Bacci and his ‘research friends’ travel to Scole to see us – so they had traveled over to the UK on this occasion.

At this first meeting in the Scole Inn, whilst we were chatting, somebody asked me for a business card. I put my hand into my pocket and as I took out the business card, three apports fell off my hand, having materialized in front of us all in full light! At that point, I started to take the meeting more seriously, and listen more carefully to what they all had to say.

Consequently, Sandra and I were invited out to Italy. We flew to Rome in September 2004 and were kindly driven to Grosseto by Alessandro Zampieri. We were indeed greatly impressed by the people at Bacci’s Centre (his close research group included) and by the many impressive ‘radio voices’ we witnessed, speaking to us clearly through his radio.

Many of the Italian contingents became firm friends, and I re-visited Bacci at Grosseto during early December 2004. Also there on that occasion were: Paolo Presi (psychic researcher); Professor David Fontana (one of the main Society for Psychical Research (SPR) investigators of the ‘Scole Experiment’ and co-author of the ‘Scole Report’) and Dr. Anabela Cardoso, a major EVP/DRV researcher and Portuguese Consul in Vigo, Spain.

Shortly afterward, Emanuel Toriello and Alessandro Zampieri were based in the UK for a while and began to sit with us in the ‘Scolehole’ on a fairly regular basis. We had a few instances of minor physical phenomena on the occasions that they sat, but there was no proper development of phenomena which is what we would have liked to see happen. In fact, despite several efforts to re-create the Scole Group after the ‘Scole Experiment’ finished, with several different sets of sitters, it soon became clear that neither the time, the sitters, nor the place was right to bring back the phenomena in profusion. For several months before we left Scole to come and live in Spain in 2006, we could actually physically feel the spiritual atmosphere and positive feeling that had been the psychic heart of ‘Street Farm’ slowly seeping away from us.

Grassroots beginnings of ISATORP

Through regular meetings with my new Italian friends, and communication with a number of other serious researchers all over the world, the idea gradually came together to start a fully international association that could cooperate with research projects and serious experimenters internationally – helping one another with every aspect of development and demonstration of the various phenomena and different types of mediumship (in a word - sharing); as well as acting as a forum for discussion and education regarding the latest and most successful research techniques. It was hoped that if the promised funding (and much was promised) proved itself in reality, then eventually, the organization itself might even be in a position to help out with the limited funding of deserving research projects.

I was personally asked to help run the organization because of my long-term experience with mediumship and all types of physical phenomena, plus my extensive knowledge, acquired over decades, of the very best examples of deep trance and evidential mental mediumship. I was also lucky enough to have made a great number of international quality contacts who would prove to be useful to the organization over the years.

Already promised from relevant sources (and eagerly anticipated) was a high level of funding from certain high-profile international bodies. This would help the organization to improve collaboration between researchers and establish better human relations in the field of scientific transcendental research. In order to protect the correct academic image, it was deemed important to keep the title of the organisation on a scientific level, and to go about the running of the organization in a highly professional and thorough manner.

As a first step, a number of key international researchers, experimenters, mediums and contacts attended two meetings at the St. Giles Hotel, London W1 on Sunday, February 6th, 2005 to ratify the organization’s name, discuss the setup and set the aims and objects of the project. The morning meeting consisted mainly of delegates who were serious ITC (Instrumental Trans-communication)/EVP/DRV researchers and experimenters. A separate afternoon meeting was attended by delegates whose interest lay mainly with objective physical psychic phenomena.

Amongst the morning delegates were: Professor David Fontana; Dr. Anabela Cardoso; John and Maryse Locke from Paris; Dr. Hans Schaer from Switzerland; Tina Laurent from Wales; James and Shirley Webster (James was a retired professional Magician) from Hastings; Chris Pettit; Lewis Elbinger; Marcello and Marina Bacci; Emanuel Toriello (who was to assume the position of the CEO of the new organisation); Alex and Maria Zampieri; Lawyer Amerigo and wife Rosella Festa, together with us – Robin and Sandra Foy.

The afternoon session included: Denzil and Kay Fairbairn (Denzil is a nephew of famous physical medium Jack Webber); Paul Barker from David Thompson’s physical mediumship development circle – plus Dennis and Rosalind Pearman, who were the founders of the ‘Zerdin Fellowship’, following the demise of the Noah’s Ark Society.

Emanuel Toriello’s suggestion of the name ISARTOP was approved, which stood for the International Scientific Association (for) Research (into) Transcendental Objective Phenomena. Looking back, it was certainly a mouthful! The mission statement of ISARTOP, together with its aims and objectives, was to be issued shortly afterward, followed by the appointment of a board of trustees. Once the infrastructure of the organization was in place, membership details and invitations were to be published. It was envisaged that the first, full ISARTOP meeting would take place a few months later, in May or June of 2005. As potential ‘trustees’ of the organization, it fell to Sandra and me to compile a list of interested researchers and members of the public for the early mailing lists. This was something we were happy to do.

ISATORP vision

The ISARTOP organisation was to be structured as a number of departments working parallel with one another, each dealing with their own speciality. For instance, there was to be an extensive ITC/EVP and DRV department; a department for physical mediumship and its phenomena; possibly a department for trance work; maybe even one for crop circles and UFO’s. Experience had already taught us that many of these were – in any case – inexorably linked.

It was hoped that there would eventually be two full-time administrator/coordinators, and other experts available to handle all aspects of members’ questions. The budding organization would pledge to help and oversee the development of both mental, trance and physical mediums, seeking to continually improve the general quality of mediumship internationally – with the provision of ‘accurate evidence’ of an Afterlife being the constant objective for the organization to follow.

A major website was envisaged, operating as a ‘portal’ through which members could access their particular area of interest. There would be various educational and self-help instructional booklets available to members, covering all aspects of scientific research into this specialist subject – to help them develop their own research projects and phenomena.

Members were to receive a regular magazine (possibly quarterly initially), together with regular research reports from those members who were involved in relevant research projects. This would help with the sharing of knowledge and information between members. In so doing, these would also encourage further development amongst members. A documentary was also planned on the work of several prominent researchers, together with regular conferences, seminars, and social functions.

From ISARTOP to ASSMPI

Robin and Sandra Foy. Robin passed away in 2022, aged 78

The whole ISARTOP project was very ambitious. It was a new concept on a massive scale – something that at that time had never been attempted and successfully achieved on such a grandiose and fully international scale. But regrettably, it was not to be. The Italian contingent who had originally planned this concept (in particular, Emanuel Toriello, who was to be the CEO of the project) ceased to be regularly available for the project to go ahead fully. Sandra and I were personally asked to undertake (and did) much of the preparatory work to get the organization going. Our own funds were stretched beyond reasonable levels and funding was vital to achieve even the basic steps. Regrettably, the promised and we believed solid source of income never arrived, despite the initial assurances.

Thank goodness that the motivation we had as the potential creators of the ISARTOP project has not fallen by the wayside! Another man of vision, our own President and top-quality Medium Jock Brocas was similarly inspired several years later to create a truly international organization along similar lines – the ASSMPI (American Society for Standards in Mediumship and Psychical Research). Not only did Jock have the vision to do so, but against all the odds, succeeded almost single-handedly where we failed all those years ago! Congratulations and thanks are due from us all, Jock – to you and your own special Spirit Team – for your truly inspirational achievement in really and truly putting the ASSMPI on the map!

A Note From The ASSMPI President:

When this came across my desk at the ASSMPI office, I was flabbergasted as I never expected to receive such an accolade. I want to make it known that behind the organization has always been service to Spirt and been guided by Spirit. Without Spirit answering prayers for help when all seemed impossible, we are only where we are because of the dedication of the whole ASSMPI team and we have a long way to go, but with each day, we take one step closer. We are in no rush and we always look for quality rather than quantity. The journey has just begun and we have a great band of brothers and sisters to travel on this journey together. Whilst I accept the accolade, I am nothing without the team on both sides of life and The ASSMPI was by Spirit – for Spirit – through Spirit – to Spirit and in service to Spirit. We are non-political, non-judgemental and welcome all with open arms.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN Group. The ASSMPI has evolved into the ISSMPI - International Society for Standards in Mediumship and Psychical Investigation.

ISSMPI – INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STANDARDS IN MEDIUMSHIP AND PSYCHICAL INVESTIGATION

issmpi.org

I Am Dying!

On Death and Dying – A Perspective

I am dying! Yes, that is what I said. Do I say that to encourage sympathy from you? No I don’t, as all of us are dying. From the moment of our birth into this plane of existence, we are dying. Does that sound morbid? Well it’s not meant to. It is just a simple fact of our physical existence here on earth.

Why do I make this statement? Well for one thing, it is something we shy away from, the end of our physical life. For some, the prospect fills us with a terrible fear that one day we will actually die. Why should that be? One reason is that many people simply do not know what awaits us after so called death. We can all be glib and say that as we have been good, we will go to heaven. But what is heaven? Is it a real place or is it a state of mind?

As a medium, I know certain things about the state of existence in the life to come, but I do not expect everyone to have the knowledge that I have garnered over thirty years of research and indeed, development. How do I know these things? Simply because the folk who live in the next realms, tell us what it is like there.

To go back to my original statement, if we are to die, then what is the purpose of our existence here, and what’s more, why did we come here in the first place? Part of the answer is to learn and gather experience. Another part is to be of help to your fellow man, in whatever way you can. The sage Silver Birch once said that if you are of help to just one person in your life, then your whole life has been worthwhile.

What Does Religion Say?

Then what about religion? Religion dictates to us and tells us that we must conform to the tenets and rules of that particular religion. Failing to do so will have dire consequences, and we could be consigned to a fiery hell for all time with no hope of any escape or repeal.

All religions follow this path, the path of ruling by fear; hence the term ‘God fearing’ that was popular in Victorian times and indeed earlier. Would a so called loving God send anyone to hell just because they did not believe in what the priests tell them? That is the message that is given from the pulpit every Sunday and has been for around 1700 years or so.

Well, I say that is all a load of sheer bunkum! Just by having a belief in a religion will not ensure that you have a life in any heaven after this life has ended. Religion binds our minds so that we are not allowed to think that there may be something else. I know this, as there are members of my own family and indeed some friends who are so bound by their beliefs that they will not listen or even consider that someone else may have a slightly different opinion than that which has been forced on them by indoctrination from a very early age.

It begins just after birth when the parents take their newborn babe along to their local church to be baptised or Christened. One cannot really blame the parents as they truly believe that they are ensuring the continued survival of their child should they unfortunately die at an early age. It is only today that most children can be almost certain of reaching adulthood, as in the past, childhood was fraught with disease which was often a fatal condition. Simple things that we take for granted today, such as the common cold or influenza, would invariably prove fatal to children. So one can understand that the parents wanted to do the best for their children, just in case of an early demise.

I am dying – so what about it?

What has all of this got to do with my statement I am dying? Well, it has a lot to do with it when you understand that the reason for the existence of people who practise their belief is exactly like a child earning brownie points from their parents. They have been good today, or have done well at school etc. so they may get some more pocket money or some other treat. They feel better for it and the parent will also thus feel better as they will think they have an extremely good and obedient child.

This carries on into adult life and the priest or vicar takes on the role of the parent. If we do something good, then the vicar will tell us so and that by our good deeds, we will assure ourselves of a place in heaven and live happily ever afterwards.

Is that it then? Is that what we have to look forward to? A life of bliss in heaven? We really don’t know where this heaven is and we don’t really want to, as the vicar has told us we are going there. So we don’t have to think any more about it.

Now we are getting to the bare bones of the matter - we don’t have to think. Why should we? The church and the vicar will do all our thinking for us. So whatever we do between those two points, that of our birth and death, does not really matter much at all, as long as we believe! Oh yes and we can commit the odd crime along they way as well. It doesn’t matter because we believe and because of that belief, our crimes or sins will be absolved.

Again I say, what a load of bunkum!

What is our reason for being here?

Okay, I can hear some folk saying that I am coming across as an Atheist. Well, far from it. I realize that there is something greater than myself which some refer to as God. I prefer the term used by the Native American people that is Great Spirit. Some refer to the Builder of the Universe or indeed Universes. Whatever we call it, we do realise that there is a greater mind than ours at work in the great scheme of things.

An Atheist is one who has no belief in God in any guise and believes in a solely physical existence with nothingness at the end of it. Indeed, as one Atheist said to me, there is only oblivion after this life. What a terrible statement to make, for they must surely see nothing of good in this life at all.

If I will be dying at some point in my future, what is the reason for my being here? In the same vein, what is the reason for you being here? In a nutshell, it is to learn and to try to do the best you can, not just for yourself but for your fellow man also, and indeed the animal kingdom. There is a plan, although it is not easily understood by many just at this time.

If this physical life is such a short life compared to eternity in the realms of spirit, then perhaps it is not the real life. Perhaps this temporary life, or existence, is to prepare us for the life to come, much in the same way as our life in school as a child helps to prepare us for adult life after we leave school.

So in fact, I am not dying! How can I die? How can something that is eternal, die? Yes that part of me that is the physical will die or pass away, but that is only our physical form which is not our true form by any means.

So, between those two points of our birth and our death into this world, simply do the best you can.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Wayland's Smithy - Where Excalibur was Forged, Apparently

England's Wayland's Smithy is a place of great mythic meaning, a tangible link to times of gods, elves, evil kings, and Arthurian legends. The atmospheric, eerie, early-Neolithic, chambered stone long barrow can be found close to the village of Ashbury in England’s leafy Oxfordshire.

Wayland’s Smithy is approximately 185 feet (56.4 metres) long by 43 feet (13 metres) wide, and was built in two distinct phases – well before the mythic Wayland apparently resided there. The ruin resonates with three periods of time: pre-recorded history, Anglo-Saxon England, and the Middle Ages.

The entrance to Wayland's Smithy

​The entrance to Wayland's Smithy by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The first Wayland’s Smithy was a mortuary structure of stone and wood. A narrow wooden box lay on a pavement of sarsen stone slabs, in which folk were buried. The remains of 14 people – 11 men, two women and a child – were found when it was excavated in 1963. The first burials were probably placed there in 3590–3555 BC, and the last in 3580–3550 BC. Used for no more than 15 years, less than a single generation, or maybe an even shorter period, perhaps just a year, some have speculated.

A second, larger barrow (now known as Wayland’s Smithy II), with a monumental stone facing, was built over the top between about 3460 and 3400 BC, absorbing the older mound altogether. This barrow is thought to have remained in use for burials for less than 100 years. The second Wayland’s Smithy II was a very late construction compared to other long barrows, built in the style of older monuments such as the West Kennet Long Barrow two centuries earlier. Did the builders feel the need to create a sense of history, claiming an ancestral connection to the area?

Legend of ‘the invisible smith’

In the Dark Ages, Wayland’s Smithy (once known as Wayland Smith’s cave), was first mentioned by either name in an early medieval land deed (908AD) from Compton Beauchamp, documented in a charter from King Eadred in 955 AD.

An old tale says if a traveller’s horse lost a shoe on the road, he should bring the horse to the barrow and leave it overnight with a coin. When he returned the next day, the horse would be shod and the money absent. The legend of ‘the invisible smith’ was well-known by the 18th century, and familiar to both Walter Scott (1821’s Kenilworth) and Rudyard Kipling (Puck of Pook's Hill, 1906) both using the legend and place in their novels.

Reviving the tradition, coins have been left at at the site since at least the 1960s, visitors lodging the coins into cracks in the site's stones. Coins assiduously removed by the wardens of the Smithy are donated to local charities. Folklorist Ceri Houlbrook noted on the leaving of coins it,"contributes to the ritual narrative of a site."

However, the association with the mysterious Wayland the Smith is far, far older...

Norse elf, Völundr, a smith of brilliant, supernatural skill

Weland, as the Anglo-Saxons knew him, was in reality the Norse elf, Völundr, a smith of brilliant, supernatural skill, whose reputation for creating both beautiful weapons and jewellery was known throughout Scandinavia. Greedy King Niduth of Sweden thus desired Völundr as his personal smith, kidnapping and ham-stringing him to prevent escape, forcing the elf into servitude.

Völundr went along with this as a pretence, but then hoodwinked the king’s two young sons into his forge, chopped their little noggins off to make gold goblets from their skulls and glittering jewels from their eyes and gnashers. Akin to Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and the cooked Gothic brats*, he presented these wonderful gift baubles to the avaricious king, his queen, and their daughter, who were all predictably very happy - the fools.

Although happy to gulp wine from his new goblets, Niduth sent servants out to track down his now-missing lads. Meanwhile, the king’s daughter Princess Beahilda asked crafty Völundr to fix a beautiful-but-too-large ring her loving father had recently gifted her. Recognizing it as the one he had made for his wife the Swan-Princess (presumably slain by Niduth’s minions), Völundr became even more incensed at his cruel treatment by the king.

Völundr, in his rage, drugged and raped the princess, flying from Niduth’s castle on magic wings, taunting the king that his only male heir now was now growing inside Beahilda’s womb – as indeed it was.

After a long, weary flight, Völundr descended to the Berkshire downs, making an new, enchanted abode inside the ancient tomb. From then onwards, the elven smith made many great things there, such as the sword Excalibur, that his chum Merlin asked him to fashion.

The industrious elf also made Durandal - the indestructible sword of Roland (737-778 AD), legendary paladin of Emperor Charlemagne (748-814 AD). Tradition has it that Roland cut a huge gash in the rocks with one blow, forming Roland's Breach in the Pyrenees. Local folklore also claims Durendal still exists, embedded in a cliff wall in Rocamadour, France. But the local tourist office says it is a mere replica. And, in addition, Weyland also created the chain mail shirt worn by the heroic Beowulf.

In late June 2024, the mythical, centuries old Durandal sword mysteriously vanished from the cliff wall in Rocamadour.

Representation of the Durandal sword embedded in a rock wall in Rocamadour, France

​user:Patrick Clenet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Völundr – or Wayland as he became known as to the English (named by the Saxons who settled in the area some four thousand years after Wayland's Smithy was built) - lives there still. And, some say, can be still be heard, busy knocking stuff up at his forge.

But what happened to Princess Beahilda and her child by Völundr?

According to the 13th century Þiðrekssaga, she gave birth to a son called Viðga. Wayland settled a peace agreement with Otvin (supposedly the older son of Niduth, which kind of negates the point of the earlier telling) and he then married Beahhilda/Böðvildr.

The 10th century Anglo-Saxon poem Deor suggests not- such-a-happy ending:

so painful to her heart as her own problem

which she had readily perceived

that she was pregnant; nor could she ever

foresee without fear how things would turn out.

That went by, so can this

In yet another version, their son is the hero Witege, who wielded the sword Mimung, forged by his dad. He is mentioned in the fragmentary Anglo-Saxon poem Waldere, together with the blade:

a better sword

except the one that I have also in

its stone-encrusted scabbard laid aside.

I know that Theodoric thought to Widia's self

to send it and much treasure too,

jewels with the blade, many more besides,

gold-geared; he received reward

when Nithhad's kinsman, Widia, Welund's son,

delivered him from durance;

through press of monsters hastened forth.

Great White Horse of Uffington awakens every hundred years

In the distance from the Smithy, Uffington Castle looms; when our distant ancestors built the hillfort, the people laid to rest in the barrow had already been dead for two thousand, eight-hundred years.

Some used to say the great White Horse on the hillside at Uffington is the magnificent Grannie, shod by Wayland for Norse hero, Sigurd, now frozen in chalk. That is until every hundred years, when the White Horse awakes, and thunders across the sky to Wayland’s Smithy, where the smith has to shoe the horse once more. This, apparently, last happened in 1920 at a local tavern.

One evening at the White Horse Inn, at Woolstone in the vale below the Uffington, an unknown man in archaic clothes entered and ordered a pint of the local brew. The sound of a hunting horn then resounded loudly; when it was repeated, the mysterious stranger leapt to his feet and limped hurriedly outside.

The pub’s customers looked up to the hillside - the White Horse was gone, but the next morning it was back, with hooves that appeared to glisten in the sunlight.

The White Horse, The Manger, Dragon Hill, Uffington Castle

​The White Horse, The Manger, Dragon Hill & Uffington Castle by Dave Price, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wayland's Smithy masked night-time shindigs

Disturbingly, in recent years, Wayland's Smithy has been used for masked night-time shindigs by the neo-Nazi Woden's Folk, The Telegraph newspaper reporting that swastikas had been carved into trees at the site.

Something of Hitler’s obsession with the occult and Nordic gods?

Modern Pagans, including Druids and Heathens have also frequented Wayland's Smithy for ritual purposes, attempting to communicate with Spirits of the Earth, long-deceased ancestors and the also Earth Goddess (Danu?) there.

Stephen Arnell’s novel THE GREAT ONE is available on Amazon Kindle now:

The Great One : The Secret Memoirs of Pompey the Great eBook : Arnell, Stephen: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

The Great One : The Secret Memoirs of Pompey the Great eBook : Arnell, Stephen: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

www.amazon.co.uk

*

Drawing of a portion of Franks Casket relevant to the tale of “Wayland the Smith”

​unknown artisan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

​“The earliest extant record of the Wayland legend is the representation in carved ivory on a casket of Northumbrian workmanship of a date not later than the beginning of the 8th century. The fragments of this casket, known as the Franks casket, came into the possession of a professor at Clermont in Auvergne about the middle of the last century, and was presented to the British Museum by Sir A. W. Franks, who had bought it in Paris for a dealer. One fragment is in Florence. The left-hand compartment of the front of the casket shows Völundr holding with a pair of tongs the skull of one of Níþoþr's children, which he is fashioning into a goblet. The boy's body lies at his feet. Bodvildr and her attendant also appear, and Egill, who in one version made Völundr's wings, is depicted in the act of catching birds.”

Links

Rings of Nibelungs movie trailer: https://youtu.be/o_T0Vji6evg?si=CBy65kR3OMf9-shS

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/waylands-smithy/history/ https://www.berkshirehistory.com/legends/smithy01.html

Learning to Move Through Fear Within Grief

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Fear of Dying - Fear of Living

Fear is an emotion that we all experience at some point in our lives, but most people are not aware that fear is also embodied within our grief journey. When not recognized, fear gives seeds to other emotions such as anger, guilt, regret and remorse. All of these emotions can invade you when you have lost a loved one and often it is very difficult to recognize them as being separate, as the cause of one may lead to another.

Fear is a destructive emotion and more so when you find yourself alone, or for want of a better analogy, the root and branch of your favorite tree has been cut off. Your security blanket has been ripped off and you start to face all sorts of bombardment from negative thoughts within your mind; thoughts that never serve you well.

Facing Your Fear

You may wonder why you never feel your loved ones near you or why, when you hear that someone else has had an amazing experience with the afterlife, you haven’t. The truth is that you could be blocking yourself through fear. If you continue to deny your fear, and choose not to face it, you will always block your loved ones in spirit.

There are many variations of fear within grief and each has an attachment to an emotion. Be it anger, regret, remorse or sadness, there is an element of fear that holds you back. In particular, we often fear things that we feel are out of our control and that can cause you to feel weak within yourself. Fear is just part of the illusion that blocks communication and there is nothing to fear but fear itself, after all.

Many faces of grief fear

~ Fear of being alone

~ Fear of living your life without your loved ones

~ Fear of life

~ Fear of guilt

~ Fear of disengaging

~ Fear of the material

~ Fear of the spiritual

Many counsellors often consider fear to be the same as anxiety. However, I would like to put another hypothesis forward and suggest that anxiety is a product of your fear. The very nature of fear means we actually fear – fear. And so, the cycle continues and you create a fog around you that is impenetrable to your loved ones in spirit. Fear is a natural part of you. It is the essence of your own being that teaches you valid lessons of spiritual growth.

The next by-product of this destructive emotion is, of course, anger. Anger of being left alone, anger with God, anger with family and anger at yourself. This emotion evolves from within you and intensifies your anxiety. Oftentimes, we can start to feel so dejected from humanity and distanced from love, that life does not feel like it is worth living anymore. Your anger has fed the fear, the fear has fed the anger and both have exacerbated the anxiety.

Communicating with loved ones in spirit

You will not be able to have the communion with your loved ones that you desire if you do not face your fear and anger, or the responsibility that you put upon yourself or the guilt that can also arise from within. Some people move through this phase quickly but others lock themselves in shackles that are manifested from within. Now is the time to break those self-created shackles of bondage and learn to communicate with your emotions in order to communicate with your loved ones.

So how do we move through this and how do we learn acceptance of fear? You must accept this as part of you and learn to communicate with your own being so that you reach an understanding within. It’s part of your emotional code, and is also related to lessons that you must learn. We need fear just like we need the ego, but we have to understand fear in order to learn the language of the soul. Once this is done, we can finally let go of the fear and join with our loved ones. I know it is easier said than done. The first stage is to allow yourself to fear, and don’t think of it as a bad thing. Accept it as you would hold a crying child in your arm and carry it with love to quell that fear within. Understanding and acceptance create compassion toward both our self and our fear.

How to move through emotions

Have a grief journal and note all the times when you feel fear. Write down your real feelings without having to explain yourself to anyone. Each time you finish writing, no matter how short or how long it is, finish with an affirmation that you allow your fear and anger to move through and past you like a gentle breeze. Do not fight it. Visualize it moving through you and write it to yourself. No one needs to know. It’s time to let go.

When you feel emotions rising within you again, take some time to just be – talk to your fear, talk to your anger or any other emotion that arises. Say something within such as:

~ I realize that you are there fear, and I accept that lesson, but you can’t stay. Leave now in love and blow forward in a spirits breeze. Goodbye fear!

Something like this for every emotion will help you to move beyond it and create a space for positivity, love, compassion and understanding. The very energy that spirit needs in order to reach you.

Breathe Through Your Fear

The breath is the very essence of life and is divine in nature. It also holds the keys to your emotions and they key to controlling your fear. And breath is the key to communication with loved ones.

We often take breathing for granted. It is a natural response and something we do without conscious thought. However, when we bring the mindfulness of our breathing from our consciousness, wonderful things ensue. In Bonds of Love Through Grief, we talked about the power and benefits of deep breathing. Now we can take this one step further to help you with your fear and your anger.

When you feel those emotions arising within you, it is important to recognize and validate them without feeding them. Take time to become aware of your breath and this time, breathe in deeply and exhale deeply. The space between the in breath and the out breath, is the space in which you let go.

Visualize your negative emotions all floating away on balloons – carried by a loving breeze. Do this 3 times in succession and then stop. Each time you do this when you feel those emotions, you will realign yourself with the real divine energy that is your true self. This is one of the first stages to learning to move through elements of grief that allow you to feel the love you thought you lost. Your loved ones in spirit are there and they are waiting.

Feel the fear and let it leave.

Blessings to you all.

Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Bonds Of Love Through Grief

From Spirit, Through Spirit, To Spirit

It’s easy for anyone who has yet to suffer grief or to really understand the concept, to say that your loved ones still love you; their bonds of love can never be broken. A counselor or therapist can say that you are still loved whilst looking into their notes or recounting information they have learned by theoretical study. A good medium can be the spark the transformational grief journey and provide comfort in knowing they are alive and well in spirit, but I know, and you know – that is not enough.

Feel The Love Through Your Grief

Love is constant and unassuming. The most powerful force in the universe. It captivates our soul and holds us close to its bosom. Part of the journey through grief is learning to feel, and to develop a clairsentient feeling that is the real you, rather than spout theory and repetitious patterns of the spoken word without feeling.

I have felt loss and like you, understand that everyone deals with grief in their own way. My own thoughts and understanding are part of my experience and perception. I do not maintain them to be truth to you, though they are truth to me. Perhaps it’s easier for me to journey through grief more than someone else due to the fact that I am a medium and do not believe in the afterlife.

Ah, now I have your attention and I know that you are thinking: How can a medium not believe in the afterlife? Allow me to explain. I do not believe, because believing implies disbelief or learned pattern of behavior due to someone else’s experience or perceptions. I KNOW the afterlife is real, and therefore I have no reason to believe; my knowing holds no inquiry and my faith is steadfast in the truth of this reality. Therefore, I also know how powerful love is and how the reality of the afterlife is fueled by love.

But, and I say this with some authority, I also know that when our loved ones leave this plane of existence, it is very difficult for the individual left behind who suffers the loss, to really and truly believe that their loved ones are still there and that their love is still as strong as it was when they could see, feel, hear and touch the material aspect of that soul's existence. No matter who you see for counsel, it is not as real as feeling the truth for yourself and no amount of spoken words will deeply comfort you. As I have maintained, you do not heal grief, you journey through it, you become part of it and you learn to love it as part of your experience – no matter how tough it may be.

Hearing The Voice Of Grief

One of the things you have to recognize, there is a voice of grief, but it is not a negative voice - it is a voice of love that calls to you every minute of the day, and you have to learn its language. Yes there are signs of the spirit world, and yes I know that no matter how many times you are told of these signs such as butterflies, music or words you hear, they will never make that impact until you learn how the voice calls to you and how you tune to its language. For every one sign that you may have recognized, there are thousands that you have missed. I hope that you will not miss these anymore and that after you take the first step on the grief journey, that you begin to hear faint voices in the distance, that ignition that causes the energy of love to pulsate though your soul and cleanse you from the hurt.

Learning to breathe again

So how do we begin? We relearn to BREATHE!

You came into this world through the breath of life and in that breath are all the secrets and keys to the universe. For the most part, we do not think about breathing. It is almost something we take for granted. But if I can show you how to recognize the reality of the secrets of the breath, then you will discover the secret keys to love, of knowing the reality of your soul’s energy. The space in-between the breath is where that secret is harbored, which is also the key to feeling and knowing that your loved ones still exist; the seeds of the energy of love, waiting to be tended to.

Learning to breathe again will help you unlock the power of the language of the soul, and over time, your experiences will become all the more vivid, real and healing. To start your journey to be able to deeply know and feel the love coming from your loved ones in spirit, all you have to do is set aside a short time each day and evening to breathe. It’s so easy to do. Here is a simple practice to help you get started.

Upon Waking 

When you begin to awaken in the morning, before you look at your clock, jump out of bed, worry about what you have to do that day, or feel trapped in the grip of grief and don’t want to face the day at all, I want you to just change the one thing. I want you to do nothing but breathe. Just take one deep breath, the deepest breath you can take and hold it for a moment. In that moment, try to focus on external signs of life. Listen for the birds, listen to nature awakening, listen to your heart. Breathe out, and on your out breath, be thankful to spirit or God or whatever you are comfortable with, and say this mantra in your mind:

Breathing, I remember myself.

Breathing, I awaken my soul.

Breathing, I am ready to see.

Breathing, I am aware.

Breathing, I am ready to receive.

Breathing, I am ready to heal.

Do this three times only and repeat this process every morning and evening.

Note: This updated article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.

Resources

Staying Connected: How to Talk to Lost Loved Ones During Grief - Pillars Of Grief

Send me your questions and thoughts.Welcome to another heartfelt episode of "Pillars of Grief."  Today we're delving into an aspect of grief that o...

pillarsofgriefpodcast.com

The Quiet Work of Healing: Mindfulness as a Companion Through Grief

Explore how mindfulness transforms grief by fostering presence and compassion. Discover rituals and practices to navigate loss and cultivate inner peace.

paranormaldailynews.com

Legendary Inter-dimensional Portals of Olde England - Where Be They?

The notion of dimensional doors or portals to other worlds and planes of existence has long fascinated people, and has become a frequent entertainment trope in recent years with the 'Mulitiverses' of Marvel, DC, and other popular motion pictures.

Readers might be aware that institutions such as CERN in Switzerland are actively investigating the potential of creating gateways to alternate dimensions. As of June 29, 2026, CERN has officially shut down the Large Hadron Collider for a planned four-year dark matter upgrade.

Portals Of London

​Piffle! You may well exclaim, but the notion of doors to other worlds goes back thousands of years, especially in what some still call ‘Merrie Olde England’. Ancient megaliths, Ley Lines, ‘Fairy Roads’ and more recent phenomena have apparently produced hyper-dimensional gateways, somehow powered by magnetic fields and the like.

Let us explore some of them, aided in part by the anonymously-written The Portals of London blog, which attempts to catalog the capital’s interdimensional gateways. My favorites include The Quaerium (aka the Strand Roman Bath, above), a no-longer functional gateway to other worlds, built by the ancient Romans. One Fabius Viatorio, who, (according to LP) accompanied Emperor Hadrian on his visit to the city in 122 AD, reported.

‘In Londinium, on a hill close to that settlement’s Great River, a Merchant, with help from wise men, has built a small but wonderful temple. No Gods are worshiped within its walls. Inside the temple is a bath of modest proportions, but to submerge oneself in the milky liquid is to do more than bathe. This merchant holds famous gatherings, at which women and men sink into the water, and onwards into other Worlds’

Other Portals

Other portal sites include the Crystal Palace Park Headless Statues. The Crystal Palace Park features the haunting sight of headless statues, a poignant reminder of the crumbling Victorian era. Accounts suggest that one or more of them are still operating as gateways to very twisted places indeed - NEVER touch them.

Crystal Palace Headless Statue

​Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The abandoned Pedway Scheme was a post-war plan to link the buildings of London’s Square Mile with a futuristic network of elevated walkways. Glimpses are littered around the city; especially the ‘Highwalks’ of the Barbican Centre. But when exploring the lonelier pieces, remember your exit path; you may not like where you find yourself...

Other portals supposedly include Wren’s Lost Churches, the ghost village of Elswick-on-the-Marshon in Walthamstow, the 1912 Woolwich Foot Tunnel, The Waterloo Arches Rift, Henderson’s Door (Step From This Earth in an Instant!), the Hell Gate of St Pancras Old Church, the Hampstead Heath Barrow (aka Boudicca’s Mount) and many, many other bizarre wonders.

Time Machine – a Victorian Contraption Hidden in a London Tomb?

Outside London, other entrances and pathways to other worlds have been recorded, including a crenelated ‘floating city’ above the seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex.

Earth Mysteries

Of course, the most famous portals of England must be those of ‘faerie’, earth mysteries which punctuate the countryside and inhabitations, on ley lines, under lone trees, daisy rings, burial mounds, henges, odd grassy knolls, and suchlike. One can enter to meet and commune with the fairy-folk, but your stay may unwittingly run to decades. So watch out, if tempted.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics explored the concept of an English Faerie ‘Otherworld/Avalon’, a ‘pocket’ dimension adjacent to Earth accessed through ‘places of power’, including Glastonbury Tor, the Long Man of Wilmington, the Cheviot Hills, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Avebury, Buckingham Palace, Hadrian's Wall, Cragside in Northumberland, Clifton Suspension Bridge (Bristol), The Cavern Club in Liverpool, Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate Cemetery, Alan Moore's greenhouse, London’s St. James Park, as well as various other hidden sidhe (fairy mounds) situated throughout the British Isles.

The Long Man of Wilmington on South Downs in Sussex, UK

​Steve Slater, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Of course Marvel liberally referenced actual English folk lore in their concept of Avalon, including the use of Glastonbury Tor as entrance to the ‘Fairy Otherworld’:

In the UK, the cult TV series Sapphire & Steel (1979-82) centered on a pair of interdimensional operatives, the eponymous Sapphire and Steel. The duo were engaged in guarding the continuing flow of time, a ‘progressing corridor’ that surrounds everything. There are weak spots where the malignant entity of ‘Time’ – can break into the present and steal things for its nefarious purposes, as well as other evil creatures that lurk the corridor looking for the places to enter our dimension.

Sapphire and Steel

‘Otherworld’ was a sci-fi television series that aired for eight episodes from January 26 to March 16, 1985, on CBS and was created by poet, recording artist, screenwriter, television producer and television director Roderick Taylor.

The Sterling family tour the interior of the Great Pyramid of Giza during a conjunction of the planets which takes place once in every ten thousand years. They are then transported to a planet which may or may not also reside in a parallel universe.

Otherworld

Neverwhere TV Show

Neverwhere is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". The show was partially inspired by Gene Wolfe's fantasy novel Free Live Free - where a Mr Free offers free lodging to anyone who helps him locate a lost object hidden in his Chicago home. Four people (a mystic, a private eye, a prostitute, and a salesman) agree to his terms.

Neverwhere

The 'Telectroscope' was the name of an art installation constructed by Paul St George in 2008, which provided a visual link between London and New York City. According to the Telectroscope's fake history, it used a transatlantic tunnel started by the artist's fictional great-grandfather, Alexander Stanhope St. George. But really, the installation used two video cameras linked by a VPN connection to provide a virtual tunnel across the Atlantic. The producer of this spectacle was the creative company Artichoke, who previously staged The Sultan's Elephant in London:

And finally, more English ‘Hell gates’ - supposed entrances to the Devil’s realm:

The gateway to hell? Hundreds of anti-witch marks found in Midlands cave

The Devil's Jump Stone, near Marston Moretaine (Bedfordshire)

A stone marks the spot where the Devil played a game of leapfrog with three local boys - when they jumped over his back, a hole to hell opened, and they were never seen again. Sh*t happens, as our American cousins are wont to say.

The Bungay Druid’s Stone – a portal-ish instrument for contacting the Horned One?

In Bungay, Suffolk (allegedly the UK’s ‘Satanist Capital’), a rock known as the Druid’s Stone stands in St Mary’s Churchyard. Folklore asserts this stone is actually a portal for contacting Satan. If you desire direct line to Old Nick, you must either run around or knock on the stone 12 times. A bit like that old song by Dawn, but with more knocking. And running.

The Druid’s Stone is actually most probably a glacial erratic brought to Bungay in the last ice age.

The title page of Abraham Fleming's account of the appearance of the ghostly black dog "Black Shuck" at the church of Bungay, Suffolk in 1577:

"A straunge, and terrible wunder wrought very late in the parish church of Bongay: a town of no great distance from the citie of Norwich, namely the fourth of this August, in ye yeere of our Lord 1577."

Other ‘Satanic Portals’, this time further afield:

Stephen Arnell’s 5* reviewed historical novel, ‘The Great One’

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-One-Secret-Memoirs-Pompey-ebook/dp/B0BNLTB2G7

References

portalsoflondon.com

historicengland.org.uk

britishfairies.wordpress.com

marvel.fandom.com

​The new 2024 New York–Dublin Portal: https://youtu.be/j_8wZhXjAGc

​Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series of novels: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/channel/UC0rhKMnJzH6xF80EdQuAQIw

Life of Edna Turner, a journalist for a listings' magazine who discovers a strange parallel version of London called "Undone": https://www.spesh.com/ben/undone1page.html

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/reports/hellgate.php

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/645694/Did-portal-to-another-dimension-open-up-Mysterious-floating-city-seen-in-the-skies/amp

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1021258/The-amazing-telescope-lets-New-York-Londons-Tower-Bridge.html

https://www.gaia.com/article/did-our-ancestors-know-how-to-open-a-portal-to-another-dimension

https://home.cern/science/physics/extra-dimensions-gravitons-and-tiny-black-holes

https://www.gaia.com/article/did-our-ancestors-know-how-to-open-a-portal-to-another-dimension

Energy-Based Physical Phenomena - Is it Really New?

Ever since the energy-based work of our 1993-1998 ‘Scole Experiment’ (with its unique physical phenomena) became well-known within the realms of Psychic Research and Spiritual Science, the connections with ‘energy’ seem to have caught on and now seems to be the ‘in thing’ – this being a very popular expression used within both mental and physical mediumship alike. 

The majority of newer groups and circles who sit for physical phenomena, often follow advice from Spirit as outlined in the Scole Experiment’s ‘Basic Guide’ and use the specially blended mix of three different sources of natural energy which Spirit refer to as ‘Creative Energy’. I personally know of a number of experimental groups who have already achieved excellent energy-based phenomena developed in this way.

However, what I do find surprising (and what worries me to a certain extent) is that a number of bloggers, writers, authors and mediums themselves have begun to refer to their work, and that of groups seeking to develop energy-based physical phenomena, under the general heading of having been engineered by Spirit using ‘new energy’.

Whilst it is quite correct to describe most of the energy-based physical phenomena witnessed during the Scole Experiment as ‘unique’ and ‘incorporating brand new types of physical phenomena’ which had never, to our knowledge, been previously witnessed anywhere else in the world at that time, it would not be accurate to state that the work and phenomena could be accredited simply to the use of ‘new energy’. 

As we were told by our Spirit Team, many other circles, groups and physical mediums in the past also worked in this energy-based way, right back (way beyond modern Spiritualism) to time immemorial and the days of Atlantis! The difference at that time was that few of them actually understood that they were working with ‘Creative Energy’. We were extremely lucky at Scole, in that our own wonderful Spirit Team (many of them scientists and engineers during their earth lives) chose to discuss their methods and spirit technology with us in as much depth as possible so that others might gain a clearer understanding of exactly how energy-based phenomena worked. We were also led to believe that for the first time in decades, the work at Scole enabled our Spirit Team to control the use of energy-based phenomena in better ways than were previously possible.

Let us look at some examples of physical mediumship and its phenomena and why I believe that ‘Creative Energy’ played its part – just as it did for us at Scole:

Henrietta ‘Etta’ Wriedt

​Arthur Conan Doyle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Henrietta “Etta” Wriedt (1859-1942) of Detroit, Michigan, was described by some researchers as the ‘best ever physical medium’. She was studied and validated by esteemed researchers such as Sir William Barrett, a physics professor who co-founded the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), Sir Oliver Lodge, a physicist remembered for his pioneering work in electricity and radio, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the physician who created Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John S. King, a physician who founded the Canadian branch of the SPR, and Vice-Admiral William Usborne Moore, a retired British naval commander turned researcher.

Wriedt was not a trance medium. Her mediumship came under the heading of ‘Independent Voice’ mediumship, where Spirit Communicators were able to speak independently of the medium’s vocal cords, with the voices appearing to come from ‘mid-air’. While skeptics claimed that direct voice mediums were expert ventriloquists, Wriedt was observed by researchers talking to people sitting next to her at the same time as spirit voices came through. It was reported that as many as four spirit voices would be talking simultaneously to different sitters and, although Wriedt knew only English, spirits communicated in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Dutch, Arabic and other languages. 

Usborne Moore, who had investigated a number of mediums in England before sailing to the United States, first visited Wriedt in Detroit in 1909 and then again in 1910 and 1911. He arranged for her to visit England in 1912. Moore noted that the spirit voices came through in broad daylight or gaslight, but they were louder in the dark. Moreover, Wriedt was open to sitting anywhere in the room so that the investigator could watch her and rule out fraud.

Moore further observed that Mrs. Wriedt spoke ‘Yankee,’ yet the voices of his English relatives and friends came through in ‘pure English,’ while discussing ‘very evidential’ personal and family matters. There was never any talk of Etta Wriedt using a cabinet for her work, or of any direct observation by sitters of any form of ectoplasmic substance. These are indeed the classic conditions ideal for Energy-Based Physical Phenomena, and I believe that Etta Wriedt’s work was therefore, energy-based.

Pearl Judd

For me, this is yet another case of early Energy-Based Physical Mediumship and ‘Independent Voice’ Phenomena. Pearl Judd was a young girl who sat with her uncle Clive Chapman in a family home circle at Dunedin, New Zealand during the 1920’s. The ‘Independent Voice’ phenomena occurred in the light and was very strong. Full details are in a (now rare) book published by Clive Chapman in 1926 called ‘The Blue Room’, which I can thoroughly recommend to anybody who has not yet read it! Once again, there was no cabinet, no trance and no mention of ectoplasm. Classic Energy-Based Physical Phenomena.

The Elmer Browne Home Circle in Leicester

I joined my first home circle in 1973 which proved to be a ‘Physical Circle’ run by local businessman Elmer Browne in Leicester in the UK. There was no cabinet in the circle; trance was not allowed, and nobody ever witnessed ectoplasm, as such. Elmer (‘Bill’ to us) ran the group under similar conditions to Pearl Judd’s Dunedin Circle – aiming for ‘Independent Voice’ in the same way, and using ‘The Blue Room’ as his ‘Bible’. In the two years I sat with that circle, I did indeed witness several examples of ‘Independent Voice’ during sittings, along with being ‘poked in the back’ by a ‘teleported’ Spirit Finger! Looking back, I have no doubt that the phenomena I witnessed there at Leicester was indeed energy-based.

The Rita Goold Circle in Leicester

There were a number of reports in the Psychic Press during the 1980’s of the ‘new type’ of physical phenomena that was being witnessed at that time in the home circle of Physical Medium Rita Goold. The circle was experiencing materialization in a ‘different’ way, so it was said. The Spiritualist Community was suspicious that the phenomena was not genuine, as ‘everybody who was anybody’ in that community argued vehemently that materialization could only come about through the use of ectoplasm. In the Goold Circle, ‘solid’ Spirit personalities were visiting the circle every week, including the very solid Spirit boy Russell Byrne who acted as a guide and Spirit ‘compere’ within the circle. Another regular prominent Spirit helper in that circle was the famous materialization medium Helen Duncan. In life, Helen had been a large lady. When she manifested in the circle, she occasionally sat down on a settee during a séance and her heavy weight was felt by other sitters in a physical way!

Russell Byrne’s parents attended the circle at the invitation of Rita, and were able to verify absolutely 100% that the solid visitor Russell was indeed their son! The Spirits of Russell and Helen spoke in their own voices during sessions (see the book ‘Russell’ by Gwen Byrne – Janus Publishing). Our friend Alan Crossley (medium and experienced psychic researcher regarding physical mediumship) who knew Helen Duncan well and used to organise some of her séances when she was alive, also stayed with Rita at one point and attended her séances. Alan was able to confirm totally that the solid visiting Spirit of Helen at Rita’s séances was indeed Helen herself, and that Rita’s mediumship was genuine. On more than one occasion (not during a séance), Alan actually watched stuffed toy animals climbing up the wall in full daylight!

It is still a mystery to me as to why, but Rita was dramatically vilified by much of the Psychic Press because leading Spiritualists could not understand how her phenomena was produced. Shamefully, Rita even received a number of ‘death’ threats at the time, which eventually led to her abandoning her amazing, successful and absolutely genuine mediumship! I do not think that it was ever explained to Rita’s Circle during sittings that the materialisation and independent voice phenomena they were experiencing, was actually energy-based and was similar to our own Spirit Team worked at Scole. I have no doubt whatsoever that Rita’s phenomena was indeed an earlier manifestation of our energy-based phenomena at Scole a decade later, and that the materialisations of spirits who visited Rita’s seances were in fact teleported into the room in exactly the same way that was used during ‘The Scole Experiment’.

The Streatham ‘Theatre School’ Circle

This was another amazing circle in the 1990’s where energy-based physical phenomena was prevalent. During a seminar by the Noah’s Ark Society, which I founded in 1990, Sandra and I were approached by a delegate who was sitting in this circle (which apparently had no medium as such), but which was nevertheless experiencing amazing phenomena including Materialisation and Independent Voice. We agreed to sit with the circle for a while to assess the situation and offer advice if necessary, which led to our sharing several sittings with the group over a period of time. It was a few months before we were able to conclude that a young French man in the circle was actually the medium, as the initial assessment seemed to point to the fact that the group as a whole supplied the ‘Creative Energy’ for their Spirit Team to operate.

On the first occasion, we climbed the stairs to the third storey room and (in full light), I was again ‘poked in the back’ by a solid Spirit finger urging me up the stairs. We were able to verify that the phenomena was unusual in the way that it was engineered by the Spirit Team, and comprised of everything that the delegate had originally described – and more! This group had a tea and cake break in the middle of the sitting and we all left the room and moved across the corridor to a kitchenette. An Independent Spirit Voice’ would tell us when it was time for the break and if we stayed too long, would inform us that it was time to return to the séance room as they were waiting for us.

There was no cabinet in the room in which the circle sat, nobody went into trance and there was no suggestion whatsoever of ectoplasm but with everybody wide awake, the phenomena happened! The Spirit Visitors amongst us were quite solid to the point that – on more than one occasion – a large and heavy male Spirit person gently pulled up one of the ladies in the room and danced with them! This happened to Sandra, and she was quite blown away by the experience. Knowing what we do now, and after the later sessions we held at Scole, it is quite obvious that the superb phenomena was energy-based, and that the solid Spirit visitors were teleported into the room in exactly the same manner as we later enjoyed at Scole.

So you see – in my own mind – with all these examples to draw upon, I am absolutely certain that energy-based phenomena is not new, but has been ongoing for over two centuries, if not longer.

​Note: This article was originally published in the Afterlife Magazine by The Otherside Press which has since joined the PDN group.