Mediums and Spiritualists
A medium is an intermediary between our physical world and the people, animals, and other beings who live in the realm of Spirit. In common parlance, a medium is someone who "talks to dead people." A medium may also receive information from pets, angels, spirit guides, and others in the world of Spirit.
People seek out a medium's services for a variety of reasons. Clients sometimes come looking for general contact with loved ones who have passed to the other side. (Please note that "loved ones" include pets and other beloved animals now in Spirit.) Sometimes people want answers to specific questions related to someone's death, or reassurance that their loved ones are doing okay. At times people come to a medium for a reading for other reasons: they may want information from loved ones, angels, and spirit guides about current life dilemmas.
Mediums do not predict the future; nor are they fortune-tellers. They simply pass on information from Heaven/ Spirit about possible future or current events. We as humans have free-will and therefore the ability to affect possible future events. Some mediums are able to sense medical or health concerns. When this occurs, a medium strongly encourages the person to see a doctor, as mediums are not medical practitioners and cannot diagnose illness or prescribe treatment.
Just to clarify the difference between a psychic and a medium: A medium has the ability to communicate directly with Spirit. A psychic has the ability to read energies. Everything, from our food to our thoughts to the rocks in our driveway, has energy - in other words, it carries an electromagnetic charge that can be measured. Therefore, energy incorporates, embodies - energy is everything. (See Living the Field for reliable scientific information about this concept).
Modern Spiritualism as a religious movement emerged during the middle of the nineteenth century, reaching its peak around the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century. As a religion, it is not Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Pagan, or even non-denominational. Spiritualism is its own denomination, defining a particular approach to spirituality.
Briefly, Spiritualism is a religion, science, and philosophy for life. Spiritualism states that life is continuous - in other words, we never die, we just change states of being. As a science, Spiritualism is committed to proving the continuity of life by communicating with spirits who have passed on. (For more information about the scientific underpinnings of these concepts, see veritas.arizona.edu.)
Spiritualists follow a set of principles but have no dogma. The principles serve as guidelines for living, such as "treat others as you would like to be treated" and "infinite intelligence (Spirit, God) is all there is." Rather than concepts of sin and redemption, or other specific dogma, Spiritualists believe that we have personal responsibility for our spiritual development and that our actions create the reality we live. Spiritualists strive to find truth and to live accordingly to those truths. (You can find a listing of the principles at the websites noted below.)
"Remember this is -- and always will be a spiritualist camp. Hold fast to this truth and say to those who would have it something else -- the world is wide -- so go your way we would have no new Gods place upon the alter. Spiritualism is enthroned in the camp and outside issues must be kept to their realm -- guests to be entertained but not allowed to monopolize or overthrow this camp."
-Marion Skidmore, 1894
Many but not all mediums are Spiritualists. Not all Spiritualists are mediums. But there is a long relationship between mediumship and Spiritualism, and Spiritualist churches and camps have been the primary source of training for true mediums. As noted in the section on What is a Medium?, a medium is someone who serves as intermediary between people here on this earth plane and those in the spirit realm. A medium specifically "talks to dead people," as well as angels, pets, and spirit guides. A medium is one vehicle for proving the continuity of life. (See What is a Medium? for more information about the difference between psychics and mediums.)