THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF SPIRITUALISM.
There are a lot of things we don't agree on, depending on our level of understanding and what just sits right with us as we learn different things, as we are always evolving and growing in knowledge, but these 7 items are the general foundation of all Spiritualistic belief.
THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD.
Although this in no way means a "male" figurehead…… it is the common terminology used in reference to represent the power of the creative force of Spirit. Spirit communicators constantly tell us that it is very hard for them to convey things to us in our understanding of language because they are speaking of eternal infinite things, and all they have to work with is our finite language. This first principle encompasses the feeling of a creative force, an energy or a divine power that is relevant to every single human being that exists on the planet, no matter what their beliefs are. "God" of course is neither male nor female and is the sum total of everything in existence in the universe. This fatherhood only refers to the fact that there is an all divine, all wise, all loving energy that governs our world and all the other worlds in the universe. We believe that God is within every man to a degree and it is our task to allow the greatest expression of that "god " energy ( which roughly equates to us giving the best we've got), during our lifetime.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
Again the terminology to denote universality. BUT, it only is there to remind us of the spiritual ties that bind us all, each to the other, simply because we ARE that creative spark of the divine. ( there has been much discussion in the spiritualist movement over the years about revising these principles and using different words BECAUSE of the whole male implication thing - but when you get far enough into the learning you just understand and realise its all just semantics and not in the least important). The ties of the spirit that bind us are far greater than ANYTHING that can divide, and it is only man that allows these divisions to happen.
THE COMMUNION OF SPIRITS AND THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
We know and have had shown and proven to us (a lot of this happens in meditation), but also in the every day dealings of our lives, that there is a network of spirit guides and helpers constantly available to inspire, guide, direct, uplift and just generally give us the sense of never being alone. Many experience these "feelings" in one form another, but just pass them off as illusion or imagination or just finally deny they even happened. Yet they are with us ALL the time, but most of us are unconscious of their presence. You know how you sometimes get a feeling or just know what it is you need to do, or when you were going to do one thing, and something stopped you and you changed your mind and did something else that turned out to be right ? THAT doesn't come from us or our own wisdom necessarily. We constantly have someone trying to lead us gently towards what is going to be best for us, but of course we have free will and that cannot be interfered with. They can give us the signs ( and they always do, but we are too thick to see them and go with them), but whether or not we acknowledge them and go in that direction is entirely up to us. These individual spirits do this work with us out of nothing but love. Pure love. They give up a lot of beautiful and wonderful things on the other side, to come so close again to the earth plane and work with us hard headed human beings. It is part of their service and all a part of the divine plan in operation. Also, how many times have you heard of someone either being in terrible danger, or being in a car wreck that should have killed them, and someway, somehow that no one can explain, they were kept safe. Guess where that comes from ?
THE CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN SOUL
Well, this pretty much sums up the spiritualist belief system. As spirit we have always existed, and as spirit we will always exist. At some point during the course of time, we became individuated spirit and took upon ourselves this earthly journey. We have to remember that the only point of our living on the earth plane is to learn. This earth is nothing more than a school for the soul. It is here that we get the opportunity to have every kind of experience that the soul needs, because it is here that we come up against so many different kinds of problems. When we pass over and go to our earned place on the other side, we are in a world or on a plane of existence where we are with others who have much the same level of learning and understanding as we do. There are not the extremes that we find on earth. Of course learning in the spirit world is an awesome experience, especially as we progress a little higher through the realms, but there are just things and experiences that can only be learned and understood in this physical world. (I wrote an article about the souls evolution and the question of reincarnation for our church website…….I will copy it and send it to both of you because that explains a lot more about what I am saying here - in fact I will copy a couple of the articles and you can read them at your leisure, and THAT is what you need to do…….take your time with all this stuff and digest it as you can, and then when you are ready for more………it will come.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
This is the big one for all of us. This simply tells us that there is no one and nothing that is responsible for our actions and behaviour other than us. This is the prime difference between our beliefs and those of orthodox religions. They look to God as the one who decides what happens to the human beings under his care. We don't believe in a personal god in that sense. We believe in that divine strength that we can tap into when we are facing terrible and tragic situations in our lives, but not that god is directing or controlling those situations. Personal responsibility is a BIG topic and covers a lot of ground. It encourages us all to have a look at our lives with honesty and see if the decisions we are making are going to impact positively on the spirit that IS us, or if they are only feeding the ego and satisfying the human side of ourselves.
COMPENSATION AND RETRIBUTION FOR ALL POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE DEEDS DONE ON EARTH.
Ok…..again this is a big topic. To try and put it simply …………..all we do whilst occupying this human body (that remember is nothing more than a vehicle for the spirit)……goes with us after we leave the earth plane. So ALL our thoughts, actions , words and deeds make us who we are. They build our character and create the person. When we pass, we are faced with the truth of WHO we are. We cannot escape it, we cannot delude ourselves. While we are here, it is easy to say……ohhh I did this, because they did that…..and tell ourselves that our reasons were fair. Once we are out of body we cannot lie to ourselves. Its like that saying….no where to run and no where to hide. WHO we TRULY are is visible. Now this is not said in any way of fear or negativity, because it is not until we are prepared to look at ALL the aspects of ourselves, that we can start to make the changes that will repair damage done and heal the spirit. The scales of divine justice are perfectly balanced, and the only reason for that balancing is a natural one. The Law of Cause and Effect operates continuously and for everyone - so that all the good and all the positive is looked at in contrast to all that we might have not done so well with, and the balance struck. We see where we need to make changes, we see the impact our kindness or maybe lack of kindness has had on those we have been around, and we feel the affects of our actions. Because of this we naturally want to make things right. We do this by way of service and making the decisions to work hard with our advisors to see the way that will be best suited to our learning, our recompense and ultimately our growth. It is SO important to realise there is NO punishmen. There is NO blame. There is NO judge or jury. There is only our own life to look at. This is done when we are ready, and this is done with the unconditional love and support of those who have once been where we are, and who are now engaged in this work.
ETERNAL PROGRESS OPEN TO EVERY HUMAN SOUL
Well there is also discussion ( that is a polite way to put it !) amongst spooks about the whole animal progression thing, but that is a whole other can of worms.
As far as we humans are concerned we are nothing but works in progress. It doesn't matter who you are or who you have been…….whether its Adolph Hitler……Gandhi or Mother Teresa. The possibility of progress is available to each and every one. EVERY single soul, no matter how bad they have been whilst on earth has the option to look towards the light of spiritual progress and make the changes they need to in order to begin their own progress. Now as you can imagine , there are some pretty dark and nasty planes of existence on the other side, filled with souls who have led pretty disgusting and shocking lives whilst on earth. They cannot see any light around them, because they world they are inhabiting is a reflection of their own human lives. They are drawn to a level of life that is nothing but dark, black and ugly…….not because they are being punished by God, but because that is basically the only thing they know and understand, and also its what they have created for themselves, according to the lives they have lived here in the physical. Now these souls can remain in the dark for a very very long time, but it is only for as long as THEY choose to. Because they are in essence Spirit, they still contain that spark of the divine that created them, no matter how small that spark has become, therefore they WILL be saved, BUT they have to save themselves. This means that they have to be willing to realise that they want something better than all the pain and suffering they find themselves surrounded with. The instant they cry for help ( and this can take centuries for some of them), but that very second they say………..there must be more, I cannot remain like this any longer……THEN in that moment those who have been tirelessly working to bring the light to them, lift them up out of their pain and thus begins the journey towards growth. You can only begin to imagine the hard work that its going to be, and the difficulties they would have to face. But they are given ALL the help and encouragement and pure, pure love that will enable them to make these changes. The evolution of the soul towards perfection is an infinite one. The more we learn, the more evolvement we attain, the more there is to learn and attain.
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