People have been able to communicate with the spirit world for thousands of years, in fact ever since man walked the earth. We have references to mediumistic acts throughout the bible and other spiritual writings. Moses, Mary, Peter and many more people all had experiences which have been labelled as visions, angels appearing unto them or speaking in tongues. These can be classed as physical phenomena, with materialisation being just one form of physical phenomena that we as humans can experience when communicating with the spirit world.Physical Mediumship really took off in the mid 1800's up to the 1960's, although it is still practiced today. People have been using various methods to communicate with the spirit world and the Ouija board was very popular, but it must be stressed that this should not be used by people who do not know what they are doing, the outcome could be unpleasant for those present. Spiritual contactees are trying all the time to communicate with souls on this material plane of existence, and will take every opportunity to do so through whatever means is available, and this includes Ouija boards.
Physical mediumship should only be practised in properly controlled environments with the correct supervision and safeguards in place to ensure the safety of the medium. It usually takes much time and patience to practice. The conditions have to be right for spirit to appear in whatever form. The energy used by contactees is much greater in this form of communication than with mental mediumship. In most cases a medium goes into deep trance (there are different levels of trance) for the contactee to work through them. The contactee will use the medium’s body, and it must be stressed here that the medium is not possessed by the spirit and should be in control at all times, the medium's spirit just steps to one side while the contactee uses part of their body to communicate. This can be through voice with the spirit using the vocal chords of the medium to "talk" to whoever is present, or to produce ectoplasm from various parts of the mediums body.
Materialisation can also occur where the spirit can be seen, and sometimes touched, by those present. This type of communication is very rare and should not be confused with ghosts or apparitions, as the spirit will use the energy built up in the room by those present to "appear".
The conditions MUST be right for physical Mediumship to happen, this means having in place safeguards in the form of other mediums to ensure that the session is controlled correctly and safely (I’m talking from personal experience here). Usually a group of people will gather at the same place, at the same time over a period of time, to build up the energies in the room and create the right atmosphere for whatever physical phenomena to happen. This can sometimes mean using a red light, which often creates a better atmosphere for spirit communication.
Here are some types of physical Mediumship:
Transfiguration. Here the face of a contactee can be seen on formed over the medium’s face. The correct use of lighting is necessary as shadows can appear making people think they have seen someone that really isn't there. The faces can be very clear at times, with the mediums face completely disappearing.
Trance. This form of mediumship permits the contactee to control the medium’s body for communication. This could mean using not only the voice box but also moving various parts of the body. There are various stages of trance from slight over shadowing to full deep trance where the medium seems to be asleep. Whilst in trance the medium will be aware of spirit around them, and will communicate all that is told to them without interaction of their own thoughts. Deep trance is obviously better for this as the medium is not aware of what is being said by the spirit to those present.
The medium should be in no danger if the session is correctly overseen and controlled.
Apports. An Apport is a physical object bought through by spirit usually to the group of people sitting for communication. The objects can be almost anything from flowers, books, jewellery and even money usually coins (usually small denomination values, remember financial wealth is not important to spirit. People do not usually sit for the purpose of bringing apports through, they just happen during a séance or closed circle if the spirit wishes to do so for what ever reason.
