FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q.   What happens in a public demonstration of mediumship at the Phoenix?

Everyone arrives & is welcomed by at least one of our friendly team. If time allows before the demonstration we are happy to answer any questions you might have. The atmosphere is light & friendly & at no time are lights turned off or does anything spooky happen.

We take our seats (which are laid out in rows facing the front of the room where the medium will be working); & one of our team will chair the gathering by welcoming everyone & introducing the medium. The medium will give an opening prayer to demonstrate our respect for the process of communicating with the spirit world & to ask the spirit world to make available the appropriate energies to make spirit communication possible.

We then all sing a popular song, (we provide the words & the music) to sing along to. This is the audience’s opportunity to help create the atmosphere which maximises spirit communication. It is a good idea if the audience send out thoughts to their loved ones & friends in the spirit world during the song. Your loved ones (who are probably already there) will then gather around the medium in preparation for communication.

The medium will then stand up & begin to talk about the people in spirit who they sense around them. This is a very gentle process whereby the medium can perceive the personality, sometimes see the person or be influenced to know details about them. Some mediums know who they want to talk to in the audience & some give details of the spirit person so that the audience can say by raising their hand if they understand the information given. Occasionally more than one person may raise their hand & then the medium works to get further information to clarify who they are with.

The medium will then spend the next hour bringing through one spirit person after another to give evidence of survival in the spirit world & messages of hope, healing, support & encouragement. Sometimes people in spirit talk about what is happening in your life. They do this gently without embarrassing you but very often there is laughter as spirit people by & large love to see you smile. If the medium comes to you it is very important that you speak up to clarify if you understand what they are saying without feeding them information about the person. It is important to remember that your loved ones have made an effort to come along so please do speak up. It also helps others around you to get a sense of comfort from your message if they aren’t lucky enough to get one themselves.

Children are allowed to attend, but we do politely ask that should they become noisy you take them outside as everyone has come to hear from their loved ones & it can cause difficulties for the medium to work in a noisy environment. Likewise if you have received a message please wait until after the demonstration to discuss it with your friends/family as this too can be distracting for the medium.

We hope that this has allayed any fears or anxieties that you may have about coming along but if you would like to talk to someone before deciding whether the experience is for you then please contact us & one of our resident mediums will give you a call.

Q.   Are we ‘disturbing the dead’ when we consult a medium?

No, not at all! Your loved ones take a great interest in your earthly life after they pass into the Spirit world & many wish to communicate their love & support of you. They have a choice about whether to communicate through a Medium. No Medium can summon a particular person to come through, but you can send out your thoughts to your loved ones asking them to come to a sitting or a public demonstration.

Imagine for one moment that you went out tonight & due to an accident you never came home. Based on the belief that our loved ones in Spirit watch over us, how do you think you would feel if you couldn’t get a message to your loved ones to say that you have ‘arrived safely’ & were not in any pain/had met up with family on the other side? You would probably want to bring them comfort in their grief. Mediums work for people on both sides of life. We bring comfort to those in the spirit world as well as those in the material world. By seeing a Medium you are giving your loved ones in Spirit the opportunity to communicate with you. The more they do it the easier it gets for them. This doesn’t mean that you should see a Medium every five minutes because we have to learn to live apart, but keeping in touch is a positive thing for those on both sides. Sometimes it is not possible for those who have recently passed to communicate immediately. Don’t be discouraged by this as there are many reasons for it, but do keep an open mind about other people in spirit wanting to bring you comfort.

Q.  Why do spirit people not just give details like their name & address to identify themselves to prove who they are?

Whilst communicating with those in the spirit world is a completely natural process it is far from perfect. If it were perfect then there would be no loss or grief in our lives. Losing someone is part of life’s journey where we learn many lessons.

In order for spirit communication to be of good quality there are many variables that need to align. For example it helps if the person in spirit & the Medium have some common ground or knowledge. It is a lot easier for a spirit person who is from Australia to show the medium a place in Australia if the medium has been there or seen television programmes about it for example. A Medium is like an interpreter working between the two worlds. They vary in how they communicate with Spirit. They may hear the voice or they may feel their personality or physical frame. Sometimes it is just like the feeling we get about a person who is standing behind us in a bus queue. We can tell if we feel comfortable with them. The medium has to work hard to relax & interpret these feelings & then put them into words for the sitter or audience member.

Q.  Should I give anything away to the Medium during a sitting or demonstration?

Believe it or not you actually make it harder for the Medium if you say too much because when the Medium’s physical mind starts working they find it harder to keep the link with the spirit person. In order for spirit communication to be successful the Medium actually has to alter their brain waves to a relaxed state, (not always easy in front of 50 - 100 expectant people!) However your loved ones usually become encouraged by hearing your voice which raises the energy a Medium has available to work, so please do say whether you understand what the Medium is telling you. There is nothing wrong with saying that you don’t understand as a good medium will always try to go back to the Spirit person to clarify what they mean. Please however do not sit with your arms crossed with an attitude of ‘prove it’ as the Medium will pick up on this & it actually makes it harder for them. No one is asking you to be gullible, but do try to be open to the fact that communication can take place.

Q.  Will the Medium bring up private things in a public demonstration?

A well-trained Medium will never wash your dirty laundry in public. Spirit people are very good at giving a Medium feelings about a situation without actually telling them very private things.

Q.  Will a Medium tell me that something bad is going to happen?

The spirit world do not share things like when we are going to die & again a well-trained Medium would not give this information. However spirit people do give advice on preparing for life’s big events. They don’t live your life for you, you ALWAYS have free will but they might give an opinion if they were the kind of person to give their view when they lived the earthy life. Whether you follow it is your choice.

Q.  Does anything scary happen at sittings & demonstrations?

Spirit communication should be gentle, caring & a positive experience. Our loved ones in spirit do not aim to scare us, they aim to let us know all is well. Unless you are seeing a physical medium in a séance there is unlikely to be anything that moves in the room for example. You may however feel the presence of your loved ones especially when the link is strong but there is nothing to fear.

Q.  Will my loved one follow me home after a reading or demonstration?

Your loved ones in spirit spend a lot of time with you when you are not aware of it. They are very likely to pop in & out of your life but this is not a negative thing. By talking to them you can even begin to sense them yourself & this can be very comforting.

Q. How do spirit people let us known they are around us?

You may find that you smell their scent or aftershave, perhaps a hint of other odours like cigarette smoke where there isn’t any obvious reason. Sometimes they will reach out to touch us & we will feel a slight sensation, or a robin or other sign can appear. Sometimes people agree in advance of their passing what their sign or password might be. Don’t dismiss the communicator if they don’t bring the sign as this is not always possible. Do consider the evidence presented at the time & keep an open mind. Don’t be afraid of these signs it’s their way of telling us they are near, not scaring us.

Q. Do you have to be a member to do things at the Phoenix?

No, not at all.  We do not operate a membership scheme.  You are free to choose how much or little you get involved in what we do at the Phoenix.

Q. Can I turn up at a development circle and join in?

All of our development circles require attendees to attend an assessment/induction session before joining.  These sessions are held periodically, so please contact us to register your interest and we will explain more fully how we can help you on your spiritual development pathway.