What is Trance Mediumship?

A local trance medium writes:

"Some mediums can withdraw their awareness from the physical realm to allow for those within the spirit realm to manipulate their thoughts and speech.
There are many levels of this and the simplest is known as Overshadowing when the mind of the medium is dulled in order for the mind of the spirit person to link with the physical brain to bring forward their own thoughts. This way of working can be developed through many levels of trance so that the medium's mind can eventually be withdrawn almost entirely being replaced by the mind of the spirit person who will then communicate using their own individual personality. This involves the medium being willing to give over control of the physical body to the spirit entity and naturally this requires a great deal of trust. It allows for teaching of spiritual truth as well as communication from family and friends who are now located within the spirit realm. When the medium has given over control in this way and their conscious awareness of the physical realm is removed it is called Deep Trance. In this state communication from the spirit realm can take on another form entirely and this is known as Physical Mediumship."

That is what trance mediumship is, in a nutshell. Let's now elucidate this fascinating form of mediumship by giving examples drawn from demonstrations of trance mediumship we have been privileged to witness at York Spiritualist Centre.

^ Back to top

Examples of Trance Mediumship

York Spiritualist Centre is committed to maintaining its long tradition of demonstrating over time all forms of mediumship. The trance and physical medium, Scott Milligan, treated us to a trance demonstration on the evening of Saturday 20th November 2010 as part of our Scott Milligan weekend. Darren sat alongside him as his minder during the trance demonstration, to ensure that there were no problems going into or coming out of trance, and he introduced the session with a few words about what the audience might expect to see and hear. Scott added that trance is not a frightening experience as some films and TV dramas have portrayed it, but a beautiful and natural thing. He then meditated for about four minutes before he reached the required level of the trance state for his control, "Morning Star", to come through. He used Scott's mouth and vocal chords to speak, but with a very different voice, delivery, vocabulary, and manner of speaking. He was a native American in his earthly life during the 19th Century, and English was not his mother tongue. Rather than address us, he chose to invite questions, which he answered thoughtfully, slowly and at some length. He answered questions on his relation to the medium, the meaning and purpose of our earthly incarnation, the reason for disability and suffering, why people are choosing to act in evil ways in our world, and whether we choose the conditions of our earth lives before we incarnate here.

Answering a question about the purpose of disability in this life, he said, reflectively:

"Disability! .... Would you not say, my friends, that even though the spirit is pure, the body can be broken. You can use disability to your advantage, my friends. This young man, (Scott), has a disability that does not allow him to read, to retain thought. But through that, my friend, he has used it (his disability) to speak to my world, because it is a faculty within his mind. Those dear ones which are fused within the physical form that does not function, or you could say that is broken, they experience life. They are the ones that shine brighter than all of you here, because the soul is pure. There are those that are born to your world, through disease leaving the physical form broken, but remember my friends that through them is bright(ness), through them is a perfection."

Morning Star then invited a nurse in the audience to take the medium's pulse while in trance. He tried to see if he could stop the medium's pulse. Although his pulse became slow and regular, it did not stop, as it has, apparently, in the past. Morning Star apologised that the experiment had been unsuccessful, and then retreated to allow another spirit being to speak through Scott.

There was a pause, while Scott's body breathed heavily, and seemed to go more deeply into trance. After a short while, the voice of Eric Johnson came through. It was a strong, cultured voice; a confident clear intonation in a public-school-educated, southern English accent. He exhibited a strong personality, as had Morning Star, but otherwise their personalities were quite distinct. He explained that he works with Scott in his physical mediumship and is the spirit responsible for extracting the ectoplasm from Scott's body during physical seances. He uses this to construct a voice box for the direct voice of spirit communicators, who then do not need to speak through Scott's vocal chords. His first concern was the health of a person in the audience struggling to recover from a bout of flu, and he invited him to accept some spirit healing. The person readily accepted, and sat down in front of the medium, whose hands were placed on the gentleman's back. Eric Johnson continued to address us while the healing was taking place, explaining that a Dr Pinnock was administering the spirit healing through the hands of the medium. Like Morning Star, he invited questions. He gave wise, fluent, colourful answers to questions about the process of taking our transition to the spirit world, and miracles. Then, answering a question about working with the trance medium, he explained:

"We have those in our world who have expertise in communication. We have those who are great artists and inspirers of minds of this world. I myself, I don't know why spirit chose me to come and be a friend to this young man, (Scott). Because I was a bit bitter, I suppose, during to my encasement in physical form in a body that did not function. But through my experiences of life they said I could be of use. I have all eternity, you know, because I am ageless and deathless as our friend said, and I knew that I could be of service. I myself do not wish to mean harm to this young man, but I can speak more fluently than he can. I had the capability, I still have, to lower my vibration to such a degree to entrance the mind of this young one. Others in my world do not have the capability, they need a labourer like myself to pass on the information. But what we explore through the blending with your mind, my friend! - give us any opportunity to walk by your side and we will."

On the importance of trust, he said:

"I know this young man (Scott) has question marks over that. But we trust him, why cannot he trust us? Over time, my friends, even though he asks for signs, asks to hear our world, we speak to him frequently, but he cannot hear it. He asks us to show him signs, and I mean this flippantly my friends, I wave bloody banners in front of him and he cannot see. And that is why we have to use different forms, er ... modern ways of music, if we wish to tell him something. We will have certain music to inspire his mind, it's use is for him not to think. The key of any form of communication is not to think, not to cloud your mind full of clutter for us to have to overcome."

He was asked: 'What can you tell us or share with us about the 21st December 2012?' His reply:

"This day should be of healing to your world. There is much talk in your world of disasters, when the planets come into full alignment. Many years ago we prophesied the time of change within your world. This time of change is in full swing at this present time, and that is why this earth is going through changes, to try to bring that, which has been brought out of balance, back into balance. This day that you speak of is known throughout the length and breadth of your land. On this date, why can we not all come together and send out the light, so that we can disband the darkness within your world. You may say say that this is a date where change will happen, or it could merely be a date, and that is it. It's only a date. But my friends, what we can say to you, that to mark this joyous occasion, you can come together in your centres, your churches, your sacred spaces and give thanks to life, and send out the light and the unconditonal love to your land. But that is the time when the time of change has gone full circle. So much has happened in the last twenty years in your world, and so much will continue to happen until such times as the brothers and sisters in your world lay down the arms and embrace. You can never shake a hand with a clenched fist, you know. There is much preparation for this joyous time. I suppose it is called the Festival of Light. So many young ones are being born into this world that have an awareness of our world. These light-workers, if you wish to call them that, are the new generation of mediums who will assist to take that sting out of death. Do not cloud your hearts, my friends, at this time of destruction, as it is not of destruction. It should be marked as a time of healing and of life, when all the nations and all the people of your land should come together as one."

In these examples, typical of the evening, both spirit speakers were concerned to impart wisdom and talk philosophically about matters that the audience wished to raise. There was no communication through the entranced medium of knowledge of anyone present, or from a spirit communicator who was known to a person in the audience. Here, the evidence of life after life came from the the energy that these spirit beings brought with them; the quiet, thoughtful, respectful atmosphere that this generated in the hall; the wise, healing words that were spoken; and the inner conviction these all left us with that there had indeed been communication between the two worlds.

There was a similar quiet, thoughtful, peaceful atmosphere at Gordon Garforth's evening of trance and healing in early September 2010. Gordon was attended by his wife and fellow medium, Gaynor Garforth, who talked a little about the various communicators, and explained things to us as the trance demonstration progressed. Several spirit people spoke through Gordon, while he was in a deep trance. There was fun and laughter with some of these spirit people, as well as thoughtful philosophy and some spirit healing. Two spirit healers worked through Gordon while he was in trance, and while they were working, everyone present noted the peaceful, special atmosphere generated in the hall.

In late 2006, York Spiritualist Centre welcomed the trance medium Ian Smith, who gave a demonstration of trance mediumship, which left a deep impression on all who witnessed it. While Ian was in a very deep trance, he was minded by his wife Geraldine, who introduced the session. Only one spirit being, an ancient Chinese man of much wisdom and great humility, called "Chang", spoke through him. He talked to us and answered questions on spiritual philosophy and the spirit world for about an hour and a half. What was particularly impressive and evidential was the calm, unfazed, courteous way Chang handled every question. Some of these questions were abstruse or poorly formulated, and it was difficult sometimes to grasp exactly what the questioner wanted to know. Chang answered all these questions with ease, able to grasp the nub of the question at once, and give utterance to some profound wisdom in his replies. When Ian slowly came back to himself at the end of the demonstration, it was clear that his own mind had been put to sleep, and he had been aware of none of the proceedings.

To those sceptics who would say that it was Ian's subconscious mind who spoke and answered the questions, we should state that it would have been amazing if any earthly mind, fully awake and alert, had been able to deliver the high level of wisdom and understanding that Chang did, nevermind one who was in a deep trance and unaware of what was happening, or being said. This is what made the demonstration such convincing evidence that it was a spirit being talking through the brain and body of Ian, and not a strange way that Ian had found of imparting his own wisdom. How can a person be so wise in deep trance when his mind is asleep, more so than when he is fully awake and alert, if it is not that in deep trance another discarnate mind is able to take control of his body and brain to impart his higher level wisdom, which is exactly how Chang described the process taking place in this demonstration?

It is not always only wisdom and philosophy that is given in trance demonstrations. Some trance mediums do bring through the sort of evidence of survival that we are more used to seeing from mental mediums. In early 2006 we were given a wonderful demonstration by the Portsmouth trance medium, Andy Grant. In introducing the demonstration, Andy seemed an ordinary, everyday kind of young man with a relaxed, casual manner. He went into a deep trance which enabled his spirit control, William, a 19th Century Londoner, to speak through him. William was quite different from Andy. He had a serious, commanding presence, was learned and eloquent, made use of a rich vocabulary, and was clearly a deep thinker. He fielded many philosophical questions which he handled with ease. He explained that Andy, "the boy" as he referred to him, was in deep trance during the demonstration, and that he had control of the medium's brain and organs of speech during that time, and could communicate with us freely, without impediment. Andy's consciousness was put to sleep during the demonstration, and on coming round he remembered nothing of what had taken place. It was William who gave survival evidence from other spirit beings present, interspersing his deep philosophy with much evidential detail of the survival of human consciousness after bodily death, and every piece of evidence relayed by him to the spirits' loved-ones and acquaintances in the hall was taken as correct.

^ Back to top

How trance is experienced by the trance medium

There are several levels of trance, and all are described as "altered states of consciousness". The first stage of trance is a clairsentient state known as "overshadowing", in which the spirit being comes very close, or appears to occupy the same space as the medium's body. In this state the medium becomes aware of the spirit being's thoughts, although he or she may not give them all utterance. Overshadowing can make the medium feel as if their facial features or bodily form are changing from their own. Overshadowing sometimes occurs during demonstrations of mental mediumship, and can greatly aid that mediumship. It must be remembered that mental mediumship, too, is performed in an altered state of consciousness, one that allows the medium both to pick up information and impressions from the spirit world, and assess and interpret those impressions, if necessary, and pass the messages on to the intended recipient in a kindly and acceptable way. When it occurs during mental mediumship, it can make the medium feel uncomfortable and he or she will then ask the spirit being to step back allowing him or her to work more freely. When it occurs in a trance circle, sitting for the development of trance mediumship, it will be welcomed by the aspiring trance medium, who will relax and wait for the spirit presence to impress more strongly.

The next level of trance is "light trance". Light trance is not normally appropriate for mental mediumship, although it is sometimes invoked by mediums when they are giving their Philosophy talks during a Divine Service. Maggie Carrington is one example of a medium who likes to connect with Spirit in this way when giving Philosophy. Light trance can occur with or without an accompanying feeling of overshadowing. When in light trance the medium is in full control of what is being said, and can start or stop the flow of words at will. The medium is also fully aware of everything said and happening throughout the demonstration. The words spoken seem to course through the medium's mind effortlessly, as if from elsewhere, with a continuous and easy flow.

Scott's trance mediumship might be described as "intermediate level trance". When asked after his demonstration if he had been aware of what had been going on, he said:

"No, I am not a deep trance medium. The way I can describe it is like when you fall asleep at night and then you wake up finding someone is trying to have a conversation with you. You are aware of the conversation taking place, but once you think about it, the more you start to push the other world's thoughts out of the way, and the more your own thoughts would come through. The way I can describe it is that I know that there were certain bits which were being done tonight, but I can't remember them at the moment. But ask me again in an hour and I'll start to have recall of them that way. But I am not a deep trance medium, at this moment in time. I am not going to say that I am never going to be, because we are not going to limit the spirit world, but at this moment in time in my development I am not a deep trance medium."

He was then asked if he found himself energised by the experience. He replied:

"At this moment in time I feel like I have had a drink, you know when you've drunk too much. I feel a little bit groggy, but in ten minutes time I'll be fine. Before the sitting I also had a headache, I call it a headache the size of Christmas, because it was really pounding. The headache's gone now, but I feel a little bit punch drunk. But I'll be fine with it in about ten minutes. The reason is when you sit, your blood pressure drops, but when you come out of it your blood pressure rises quite quickly and it can make you a little disoriented. Sometimes this can make you a little bit hypo, so you go a little bit fuzzy. At this moment I feel alright, but ask me again in ten minutes and I'll feel much better."

All the other mediums mentioned on this page worked in what is known as "deep trance". Their conscious awareness was out of the way, (asleep), while the trance demonstration was taking place. Ian Smith appeared to be in the deepest level of deep trance, and it took him a long time to come round and feel steady on his feet again. He appeared to be quite disoriented by the experience, and as he came back to full consciousness, he trembled and perspired heavily. This is why it is important for the trance medium to have an experienced "minder", who sits alongside them, watches over them and cares for them, particularly on going into and coming out of trance, ensuring that they are protected from improper attention at these times.

As well as the varying degrees of conscious awareness, or unconscious non-awareness experienced by the trance medium, there is usually a slower pulse, a slow, deep and steady breathing pattern, a lowering of body temperature, and a reduced reaction to touch and pain.

When we say that a medium in trance is controlled by a spirit being, we do not mean that the medium is possessed by the spirit being, or that the medium leaves his body and the spirit being enters in. Control means that there is a sharing of mental and physical energies between the medium and the spirit who speaks through him or her. This usually only occurs after a long process of development in a trance circle, in which a high degree of trust and a rapport have to be built up between the medium and the spirit communicator(s). If you are able able to witness a good trance demonstration, please remember the hours of patient and dedicated "sitting for development", which have invariably preceded it.

^ Back to top

The Place of Trance Mediumship in Spiritualism

Trance mediumship is still important today, although it is not as common as it once was in Spiritualism. Trance mediumship is the usual first stage in the development of physical mediumship. It seems that in earlier times the greatest mediums gave more of their wonderful evidential detail while under spirit control in a state of trance. One thinks of mediums like Gladys Osborne Leonard, Leonora Piper, Arthur Ford, Ena Twigg, who gave very, very strong evidence while in the trance state. Some writers have said that this enabled the spirit communicator to give a clearer or more accurate message than in normal mental mediumship where the medium's own consciousness can interpret signs and symbols given, or add his/her own ideas. The best mental mediums alive today have become very good at distinguishing their own ideas from the ideas, impressions and sensations of their spirit communicator. For others, where errors creep in, it is usually because of this difficulty of distinguishing the two sources of ideas and impressions. There are nevertheless mediums around today who give good evidence in trance, although this is less common today than it was in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. If some Spiritualists, with more knowledge and experience of trance than I, disagree with this statement, then please email me your thoughts at the address given at the foot of the page.

Trance mediumship has always been important, and still is today, for the spirit philosophy and wisdom that it gains. The best trance mediums can sometimes, while in trance, give utterance to sublime wisdom from advanced spirit guides and communicators, often in a mode of speech that is quite distinct from, or even alien to, the medium's own. Sometimes a trance medium will give a personal message to a sitter which is just the spiritual counsel that they need to hear. The evidential value of these messages is the spiritual worth they contain, and an intuitive grasp that they are coming from a higher source, although this might not satisfy someone who scorns intuition, and is only interested in evidence and detail that can be checked for its accuracy.

^ Back to top

Transfiguration

Transfiguration occasionally occurs in trance mediumship, particularly when the trance medium is sitting in the dark or in red light. Transfiguration takes us into the realms of physical mediumship, and it can be the first manifestation of that form of mediumship in one who is trying to develop it. Physical mediumsip is discussed on the next page in this section. True transfiguration occurs when an ectoplasmic sheet is placed over the medium's face, and is used by the spirit communicators to build up a mask of their own facial feaures, as they were known on earth. Because ectoplasm is highly sensitive to light, this phenomenon can only be seen in very low lighting conditions, though sometimes it occurs in red light. It is the spirit control of the trance/physical medium who decides how transfiguration will be viewed, and what light levels can be allowed. When it happens, everyone in the room is able to see it, and the masking of the medium's face with a very different face is unmistakable.

^ Back to top

For any comments on the thoughts expressed on this or any other page of this section, please email the Webmaster.

Number of pages viewed (page-hits) on this website since 1st April 2012: