My thoughts and journey about Spiritualism, and what is it?  

Good morning.   

I think you all know me but I’m Stephen Strike and have been part of the congregation consistently since fall of 2018. Many of you are aware, my journey to and within spiritualism started with simply supporting Tracey and her journey to understand spirt, the beyond and what is next.  Her journey has opened my mind and given me a larger understanding of spirit being much more beyond our / this 3^rd dimensional reality we exist in. Through my support and attending our services over the years, I’ve considered the 7 principles and trying to understand them from logic and science more than faith.  My curiosity and logical analysis with science pushed me to ask how these 7 principles are possible to believed in.  

So, this is a view from a, not yet gifted believer, that there is more to existence than this relativity of life we are experiencing.  

I started with, what is Spiritualism?  

Glen and Heather have said “Spiritualism is the science, religion, and philosophy of continuous life.” 

The internet indicates that Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. Spiritualism became most known as a social religious movement according to which the laws of nature and of God include “the continuity of consciousness after the transition of death” and “the possibility of communication between those living on Earth and those who have made the transition”.  The afterlife, or is not seen as a static place, but as one in which spirits continue to evolve. It’s also believed that spirits are more advanced than humans leading spiritualists to a belief that spirits are capable of providing useful insight regarding moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God. 

The earliest teaching / belief of Spiritualism dates back the late 1600 with the writings of inventor and scientist Emanual Swedenborg and teachings of physician Franz Mesmer.  They expressed that there was not a single Hell or Heaven but a series of higher and lower heavens and hells and seconds that spirits are intermediates between God and humans, so that the divine sometimes uses them as a means of communication.  Like all religions, spiritualism has evolved.  The 7 Principles are what we the Spiritual Church of the Light acknowledge today.    

Science requires proof, religion requires faith (sometimes blind faith) while philosophy bases its conclusions in past and present observed facts.  When considering the 7 principles I focused on the science with some philosophy and have not yet committed to faith in my conclusions of spiritualism.  

I believe in understanding Energy is the key anchor to explaining the “how” of spiritualism. Albert may have said it best “Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it” 

I’m not a doctor or have a masters in physics, nor do I deeply understand quantum physics and the theories of relativity. I have a degree in computer science and have a very logical scientific approach to most things. Tracey can painfully attest to this. I do consider myself to have better than basic understanding of many of the sciences. With this understanding I have thought about spirituality and what is means and our 7 principles.   

It’s widely believed that all matter was created at the same time at or immediately after the Big Bang.  Not the TV series but the actual birth of the universe. Further, it’s arguable that all matter is a form of energy, particularly, when considered at a quantum level. As such I hypothesize that all energy was created the instance after the Big Bang occurred.   

The term energy is very broad, and it has many definitions.  In Physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that is associated with the state of one or more objects. It’s generally defined as the objects potential to do work or produce heat. Our bodies are an extremely complex cohesion of multiple energies.  As the 1999 movie The Matrix referenced, we are just a battery, or we are just storing a huge potential to do work or product heat.  When we look down to the quantum levels of our body, we will in fact find it is true, and that we are just energy.   

Further, the law of conservation of energy or the first law of thermodynamics we have learned that that energy cannot be created or destroyed but rather that energy will take on constantly changing form.  Our bodies prove this to us year after year as we change and grown in uncountable ways physically, mentally and spiritually. Each of these types of energies transforming over time.  

It’s also recognized that all energy’s have a residence or unique vibrational attributes.  This easily translates to frequency and to the chakra energies in terms of sound and color as we know them.   

Returning to our current teaching of spiritualism. Continuous life in furs that there is existence beyond this life or that there is life after life.  Could continuous life also suggest that our begin in this reality it was not the start of life but rather a stop along the journey of continuous life. If life itself is a form of energy, then continuous life is infinite in existence since the Big Bang, as it cannot be created or destroyed. Possibly indicating that there was a form of life before this life and will be life after this life in terms of the continual existence of the sole or a transformed energy.   

I concluded and believed that life itself is a form of energy and that our soul is a special form of energy that ties all our other energies together bringing our carbon based unit to life as we define it.  In this believing, the principles become founded in science, as existence is then forever and therefore continuous life from the moment of the Big Bang is true.   

Considering energy in terms at quantum levels, I can recognize the 7 principles all being based in science as I am about to reason.  

1. Infinite Sprit, or infinite energy, is the divine creator and used / caused the big bang to create all that is in that one instance. 

2. Unity and Equality of all.  At a quantum level all energy is equal in potential work and the combination of different energies is unity in the purest form.  Continued complex levels of unity eventually create humans, solar systems and the universe itself. 

3. Communication, Guidance and Healing from Spirit and Angels.  Assuming that Sprit and Angels are a form of energy.  We know that energy has infinite existence, as energy is only able to transform to something new, then communication, guidance and healing via energy transformation is scientifically possible.   

4. Continuous Existence of the Soul and Its Personality. As we know, energy cannot be destroyed but transformed and as such there is continuous existence of the Soul and Personality given that they too are forms of energy.  Remember humans are simply a complex collection of energy and I believe are held together by the “Soul energy” giving us life energy.  

5. Personal responsibility for the Creation of Our Reality through Thought, Word and Deed.  Our life energy is individually responsible to the transformation of energies. This transformation is done via the energies from thought, word and deed which transform to create out reality.  

6. Actions create results according to Natural Law.  Understanding Sir Isaac Newton’s law of motion, when applied to quantum level vibrations of energy, that for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When we understand this and the law of thermodynamics, actions will produce transformative energetic results and thus should be considered natural law. 

7. Lastly, Eternal Progress open to Every Soul. If you’re not able to destroy energy, then eternal progress of the continuous transformation of energy or Soul is simply true.   

I recognize this is all may be very complex to comprehend, but by scientific theory we are simply energy and that everything around us is simply other forms of energy.  Further I’ve not understood how for all these types can interact and cause energy transformation.  To help believe in the theory, I turn to the philosophy or a few observations of facts.  

The famous book and teachings in The Secret tells us to create vision boards.  There are lots of examples of those that have put lots of thought and effort into the vision boards and countless times the visions come to be.  Thoughts and actions are energy being sent out into the universe with the equal reaction of that energy to guide that vision into our existence.  We usually don’t see the energy in this reality and our next reality work together in unity to guide other surrounding energies to align toward that vision, but it happens all the time. 

A more likely example you experienced, is someone calling you shortly after you think of them.  Thought, “energy”, are things that create action across our reality of space and time transforming energy to thoughts in another individual urging them to call. As you know free will or individuals’ energy can choose not to reach out but I’m sure we all can say this has happened many times.  I guess my dad will be calling me today.  

Each time we congregate here in church and as part of our service we see our message bearers be that conduit between the realities where their gifts have aligned their energies with the spirit energies to be able communicate bringing us a short reading and messages from spirit.  These messages consistently resonate with each receiving person.  

Each service we receive energetic healing via our healers that are allowing themselves to be a conduit of energy from spirit.  We may not always understand the healing that we receive but, we have faith that spirit, who is more experienced and knowledgeable than us, is directing that energy to the places we need it most.   At least once, the students of this congregation observed a healing that could only be described as a physic surgery when the energy healed Chris leaving a noticeable indent in his body where something once existed.  What was healed was not known but there was a clear sign that something changed.  Further example is the experiences Glen has recently had.  All your sending of energy through thought and action clearly had an impact and aided his recovery.  

Each of these observations are far to common to be a coincidence, but if we think of these coincidences in term of the natural law and considering that everything around us is a form of ever transforming energy these observations bridge the gap of theory to reality.  

So, what is spiritualism to me.  It’s the belief that there is more to this existence and outlines the practices and understandings of what science can prove in theory, but not yet explain in practice.  Further, that in following and practicing the principles, we can observe the theory of this science, as fact. 
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts about spiritualism and how I have accepted it and begin to have faith in it as I can now logically understand how it’s possible even though we cannot yet explain how some of it works.