Presented here is a list of terms connected with Mediumship that you may not be familiar with.

 

ABSENT HEALING: The administering of the healing energies directly from the universal source or through the direction of a spiritual doctor to the inflicted without coming in direct contact with a healer or medium.

 
ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: one's awareness or ordinary pattern of mental functioning changed in character or in its basic nature.
 
APPARITION: A usually spontaneous and unexpected visual appearance of a presence; normally of one that is deceased or at a distance; ghost.
 
ASTRAL BODY: Etheric Body or double; an exact replica of the physical body; however, non-physical; the means of out of body experiences (OOBE).
 
ASTRAL PROJECTION (OOBE) (BIOLOCATION): A spontaneous or induced experience of separating one's center consciousness (or astral body) from the physical body; however, the astral and physical body remain connected by the silver cord.
 
AURA: A field of energy surrounding and emanating from a physical being, a place or thing, and projecting to the sensitive in a variety of color fields; each color indicating different aspects of the psychological, spiritual, and physical aspects of the being.
 
AUTOMATIC WRITING: A flow of intelligent writing produced without the control of or in a disassociated state of the conscious being.
 
BAND: (a) PSYCHIC BAND is a peculiar sensation often felt as a band or a strap tightening around the head during development phases of some form of mediumship.
(b) SPIRIT BAND is a group of spirit entities joining, in one accord, to assist in the development of a particular mediumistic activity.
 
BIOFEEDBACK: A monitoring technique of the unconscious involuntary body processes by use of electronic instruments or devices; i.e. heart beat, brain waves, etc.
 
BIOLOCATION (INTROSCOPY): Russian term for clairvoyance.
 
CABINET: An enclosure, usually with a curtain draped entrance, for the purpose of housing the medium during sittings of materializations.
 
CHAKRA: Sanskrit for "wheel". Yoga philosophy describes it as a dormant center of psychic power usually activated by Kundalini, which results in the attainment of psychic power; located in the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.
 
CIRCLE: (a) HOME Circle is the gathering of the same group congenial people omitting all negativity and uniting in their understanding of communication with the spirit world; meeting routinely for the purpose of communicating by a form of mediumship and assisted by the spirit helpers.
(b) DEVELOPMENT Circle is the gathering of the same group of harmonious individuals, seeking direction and instruction from the spirit world in developing their tent psychic abilities into some form of mediumship (mental/physical).
(c) OPEN Circle is a group of individuals usually meeting for the sole purpose of communication by mental or physical phenomena and allowing anyone who desires to attend.
 
COMMUNICATION: The imparting of thoughts, ideas, opinions, or information from one person to another; in psychic field, communication may be of mental faculties usually by telepathy between spirit on various planes of existence transmitted to a medium; physical phenomena communication is by means of rappings, materializations, direct voice, etc. or other demonstration where the mind is not directly activated.
 
CONCENTRATION: Application of one's total attention to a specific; attuning the mind continuously to a focal point; a necessity in the development of psychic abilities and a fore runner of meditation.

 

CONSCIOUSNESS: The awareness of the waking state or the complete activated state of the mind and senses; basic dimension of existence whereby all physical and mental activity is projected.
 
CONTACT HEALING: Direction of the universal energy forces of healing by touch; i.e. by laying on of hands.
 
CONTROL: An apparent discarnate intelligence relaying communication through a medium to a sitter; quite frequently readily apparent while the medium is in a state of trance.
 
COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS: Universal life and order revealed to the mind of man; understood as the highest state of consciousness providing intellectual as well as spiritual illumination.
 
DEMATERIALISATION: To depart from visual appearance; the destruction of cohesion of matter to change its form and it results in the disappearance of matter.
 
DIRECT VOICE: A type of phenomena whereby a voice without a visible source is clearly heard; in spiritualistic circles believed to be transmitted through ectoplasm extended from the medium or sitters.
 
DISCARNATE: One who has been relieved of the physical body; a spirit entity.
 
ECTOPLASM: An invisible chemical component of living matter in the physical body; capable of appearing in vapor like forms; responsible for all physical phenomena.
 
ENTERING THE SILENCE: To become still, meditative; a period of total quiet or absence of any sound; i.e. meditation.
 
ETHERIC BODY: A counter part or double body substance relative to the physical body which continues in being after cessation (death) of activity of the physical body.
 
EXORCISM: An expulsion of a spirit or malignant influence by solemn or religious rites (i.e. divine appeal).
 
EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION (ESP): An awareness or experience of spontaneous awareness to conditions of an object, a state of being, influence or event without contact with a known source; occurs without a conscious awareness of people or persons involved therein.  
FORTUNE TELLING: A prediction informing one of events to one's life in the future; not associated with spirit communication.
 
FOURTH DIMENSION: Basically mathematical union as harmony of space and time as a complete framework of all natural phenomena; by science, considered a working hypothesis which developed from Einstein's relativity concept; by Spiritualists, a higher plane of existence in space and time.
 
GHOST: Apparition of a deceased person that has appeared to the living; a popular and commonly used term.
 
GLOSSALALIA: Speaking in tongues or languages that are foreign to one and of which one had no previous knowledge; xenoglassisis a closely associated term used sometimes when the psychic is writing in is writing in foreign languages unknown to oneself.
 
HAUNTING: Disturbances of a supernormal or a paranormal nature; associated activity thought to be brought about by discarnate beings. Tradition states association with two main components-old houses that provide a link to the past and the restlessness or unhappiness which produces remorse, shock, or revenge in the discarnate. 
 
HYPNOTISM: Artificially induced mental state resembling sleep-like condition; rapport established by the hypnotist and subconscious abilities and powers of the hypnotized are released; subject will accept and carry out instructions as long as they do not conflict with individual's personal instincts of morality or self-preservation; subject can carry out instructions after regaining normal state-termed a post hypnotic suggestion; methods of inducement vary; hypnosis ranges in use from medical to entertainment.

IMPERSONATION (PERSONATION): Accurate representation of mental and physical characteristics; peculiarities of a controlling or influencing spiritual entity displayed by a medium; an impressive mediumship and excellent indication of identification of discarnate; research, especially in hypnotism suggests careful consideration of individual cases before phenomena can be attributed to an outside intelligence.

IMPROVISATION: art of speaking, composing, or reciting without preparation or previous intent; most improvisers on spiritual subjects are termed "inspirational speakers" and most often the information surpasses the improvisor's intellectual knowledge.

INCARNATE: Embodied with flesh or a human body; thus, those still in a physical body as a means of expression on the earth plane.

INSPIRATION: A state of psychic or spiritual awareness where the individual is susceptible to creative spiritual influence; such creativity demonstrated in forms of lectures, works of art, science, literature, and music.

INTUITION: Faculty or ability of the human mind to know or be aware of knowledge that has not been obtained through reasoning, inference, or awareness of currently known facts.

KARMA: Taken from Sanskrit literally translated as "action"; broader denotes the Law of Cause and Effect-or for every action there is a reaction; although thought of as a lesson to be learned or debt to be paid the positive aspect is the result of a lesson already learned, thus a reward.

KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY: Type of non-conventional high voltage photography developed in the late 1930's by two Russian scientist, Semyon and Kirlian; a camera is not necessary as a generator is used to create a high frequency field-this field causes the object under investigation to radiate some kind of "bio-luminescence" on photographic paper; this bio-luminescence is also called the 'aura'.

LEVITATION: Rising of any physical object into the air without use of any visible means or agency; term frequently used in a restricted sense and often refers to the raising of the human body.

MAGNETIC HEALING: Ability of an individual to direct or impart curative forces, energy, or vitality to another individual, thus rejuvenating them; considered non-spiritual in nature because the energies involved do not originate from a spiritual source; currently thought to be of physical origin; however, there can be a blending of magnetic and spiritual healing, though not clearly distinguishable.

MATERIALIZATION: phenomenon related to physical mediumship; temporary appearance of forms or objects in various degrees of solid states; human forms, distinguishable faces, and physical characteristics; some psychics claim materialization of coins, and buttons, etc.

MEDITATION: A kind of conscious, deliberate mental process of deep and continued reflection on a subject; ultimate goal is enlightenment.

OBSESSION: Two approaches: one is medical/psychological which means that the person is dominated or controlled by fixed ideas that have a root in an abnormal mental condition; the second is psychic science which describes it as an invasion of the living by a discarnate entity-results range from partial to complete displacement of the person's normal personality while the discarnate personality is obvious; ether approach is a non-desired state.

PARANORMAL: When applied to psychic science and research, the demonstration of faculties and phenomena that are beyond the "normal" or mundane demonstration of cause and effect.

PARAPSYCHOLOGY: branch of science concerned with human exchanges or demonstrations which are independent of physical means of expression; deals with such events as ESP and psycho kinesis since they are extra-sensorimotor and do not depend on the physical senses or muscles.

PHYSICAL MEDIUMSHIP: Classification of mediumship wherein phenomena of a physical and visible nature such as levitation, materialization, and apportation are produced.

POLTERGEISTS: Commonly defined as noisy spirits or entities who cause disturbances; sometimes of a malicious nature; occurrences take place in presence of psychics or sensitives not aware of their abilities; phenomena rarely causes harm but does effect property damage in instances; occurrence in daylight as well as in darkness.

POSSESSION: Displacement or substitution of the personality by another; by psychic science, the displacing is by a discarnate; first stage-medium's personality is still apparent, but assumes character of the discarnate; full possession is a state of entrancement; unlike obsession, possession is always temporary.

PRECOGNITION (PROPHECY): Supernormal or paranormal knowledge of impending events that could not be inferred by present data or knowledge: data ranges from matters of a purely personal and individual nature to worldwide events.

PREDICTION: Forecasting or foretelling of future events using present data or knowledge to form the information; i.e. prediction of the next eclipse of the sun, based on previous knowledge.

PSI (pronounced as 'sigh'): collective term taken from the Greek alphabet and used to designate all paranormal occurrences, events, and faculties

PSYCHIC: as a noun, it is synonymous with the term sensitive; sometimes interchangeable with the term medium; as an adjective describes paranormal character of abilities and events occurring outside of known physical laws and principles.

PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPH: Supernormal ability to produce images on a photographic plate; appearance of images, psychic lights, and materialized forms on photographic plates; often taken by camera and film under normal conditions but after developed found to have both living and ethereal figures represented.

PSYCHIC SURGERY: Form of paranormal healing and in which it is suggested that diseased parts of the body are purportedly removed through psychic means; surgical instruments or other related medical tools are not utilized.

PSYCHOKINESIS (PK or Telekinesis): Demonstration of mind over matter; action of results in physical objects being moved without use of any instruments or known physical energy or power.

REINCARNATION: Theory or belief that man is immortal and his soul returns after physical death to be reborn in a human body.

RAPS: Sounds of tapping, knocking, or striking; in physical form of mediumship believed to be produced by ectoplasmic rods.

RETROCOGNITION: An awareness or knowledge of past events or persons acquired through means of psychic/mediumistic ability.

SEANCE: An assembly of two or more persons for the sole purpose of communicating with discarnate entities usually through a developed medium.

SENSITIVE: One who is highly responsive to particular agents/stimuli of the universe and thus projects abilities; not necessarily mediumistic.

SPIRIT: The divine influence and indestructible essence of being; "life".

SPIRIT COMMUNICATION: Transmittal of thoughts, ideas, opinions, or information from a discarnate being through the channel of a medium and demonstrated by a mental or physical phenomenon.

SPIRITISM: A philosophy of communication with those here as well as in the hereafter; not necessarily spiritual communication; French philosophy presents a belief in reincarnation.

SPIRITUALISM: Spiritualism is a science, philosophy, and religion of continuous life based upon the demonstrated fact of communication through mediumship.

SUPERNATURAL: the phenomena, which appears to exceed and/or violate natural law (miracles) and is beyond that which is explainable by the natural law phenomena.

TELEKINESIS (PSYHOKINESIS-PK): A form of PK-movement or motion of a stationary object without the use of any known force; PK is a direct influence of the mind over matter causing movement without demonstrating physical energy or instrumentation.

TELEPATHY (BIOCOMMUNICATION): Communication of mind to mind; assuming the mental state or thought of another person in the here or hereafter.

THOUGHT FORMS: A build up of mental energy creating physical forms in the visible world (i.e. apparition).

TRANCE: An induced or spontaneous sleep-like condition of an altered state of consciousness, which permits the subject's physical body to be utilized by the discarnate as a means of expression.

UNFOLDMENT: The development or opening of the spiritual and psychic powers of an individual.