Following up on a trip to the Britten Memorial Spiritualist Church that I reported a month ago, this time we returned in forceFollowing up on an interesting trip to the Britten Memorial Spiritualist Church that I reported about a month ago, this time we returned in force!  Five of the regular members of the Centre for Inquiry’s Living Without Religion meetup group decided to see what all the fuss was about (5 isn’t exactly a force, but in a group of only 20 congregants it is considerable).

Once again, the messages were given by 3 mediums.  What was most striking about this, as one member of our group noticed, was how each medium had a particular theme to which they dedicated the majority of their readings.  The first was focused on the importance of putting yourself first and not being overwhelmed by the problems of those around you. The second prioritized the pursuit of happiness. Finally, the third spoke mostly about balance in your life.  Odd this pattern, considering these were supposed to be random messages from the spirit world merely coming through these vessels.

Obviously the messages were all essentially variations on a common theme, a theme that was generally applicable to mostly anyone who would be motivated to attend a Spiritualist Church.  Having said that, one member of our group did receive a jumble of messages which could be interpreted as not altogether inaccurate, that is if one were to stretch them like an elastic.  He was told he was an artist into painting. Well, he does run a photography company.  Photography is kind of like painting, right?  He was described as “inspired by nature”.  He does enjoy his cottage north of the city and the views it affords.  Finally, he was encouraged to continue writing as he had a lot of “followers”. Hard not to equate this with his columns in the Ottawa Citizen, where he writes on humanism and ethics, and has indeed acquired quite a few fans.

Now before you jump to any conclusions, you might consider my own reading for the night. My medium (of the happiness variety) could see two uncles of mine, dressed in suits, leaning on each other in a friendly kind of way, who were apparently very pleased with my life.  I do in fact have 4 uncles.  However, they are all alive.  Oh, she also said I needed to worry less about what others say and think more highly of myself. Nobody who knows me could possibly think my problem was with thinking too little of myself!

Following the event, our group was approached by a man who was motivated to attend by the recent death of a loved one.  He suspected there was something unusual about our attendance since there were 5 of us that had entered together.  It turned out he too was a skeptic investigating the accuracy of the mediums in the hopes of hearing from his loved one.  Unfortunately, he was totally disappointed.  The medium failed to pick up a message from the specific individual from whom he was hoping to hear.

It was another fascinating look into the spirit world.  I’m not sure I see much need to return. Having said that, next week’s psychic tea will feature a special guest who can draw our spirit guides.  I may find that hard to pass up!