Paradoxes of Spiritualism

Spiritualism, the belief that individual consciousness survives the death of the physical body, raises a number of apparent paradoxes. The major philosophical issues arising from Spiritualism are adressed below.

Given reincarnation, who are messages from Spirit being received from?

Reincarnation does not usually happen immediately, and in some cases - if it is not required for further development of the soul - not at all. Upon passing back to Spirit, individuated, discarnate souls are given (physical) time to reflect upon their experiences and for those experiences to be absorbed back into the unity of the Great Spirit.

The choice of whether, when and how to reincarnate is made by the individuated soul itself. Where the soul has loved ones upon the physical plane to whom it is providing support it can delay reincarnation.

Also, an incarnate soul is still Spirit. Just because we are clothed in flesh does not mean we become detached from our Spiritual origin. Thus, even a reincarnated soul with a new identity may still provide Spiritual communication in the guise of its old identity. The soul is constant and eternal and may take many different identities throughout its evolution.

How come so many messages from Spirit, including messages from those who were highly intelligent on earth, are so banal?

Spirit communication is difficult for Spirit, because when clothed in flesh we become deaf to the Spirit world. This is so that we are able to concentrate upon our earthly existence and are not overwhelmed by Spiritual "noise". Many go through their entire lives with no Spiritual awareness whatsoever. And for the few that possess this awareness, so-called mediums, it is still like listening to an extremely poor quality radio broadcast. The broadest strokes can be received but the subtleties are often lost.

Also, the job of Spirit is to provide evidence of eternal reality, not to provide answers to earthly conundrums. We incarnate for the sole purpose of learning. If Spirit were to answer our every need, even if they could, it would defeat the object of our lives - experience.

Why aren't Spirit communications more specific?

Spiritual communication does not take place in the form of language but rather as non-verbal impressions, which are then interpreted by the receiver (medium) into his/her known vocabulary. Communication that can be conveyed non-verbally is generally the most successful. As mentioned above it takes consierable energy for Spirit to communicate with those in physical form, the greater the specificity, the greater the energy required, and not all communicating entities have the necessary energy and/or expertise to deliver the specificity some may demand. Finally, it can be beneficial for there to remain some general doubt in the world over the reality of Spirit, since for some this knowledge would only serve as a trigger to stop trying.

Where someone has had more than one partner on earth, with which partner are they reunited in Spirit?

Marriage and partnership are earthly concepts, not least for the procreation and evolution of the species. Where we are greeted by loved ones that have gone before it is only to smooth the transition from physical to Spiritual. We could be greeted by either, or both, partners - depending on which is likely to make our earliest moments in Spirit easier. But once fully over we accept the difference between earthly constructs and eternal reality.

Do children continue to grow up in Spirit?

Often when mediums relay messages from children they describe the sender as being somewhat older than when they passed, as though they have grown in Spirit.

All parts of Spirit continue to grow eternally. But the concepts of earthly body and earthly time do not exist in pure Spirit. When Spirit communicates via a medium they need to present themselves in some form that will be recognized by sitters. Where a soul has passed in childhood it may show itself in a more mature form both to be recognized by, and to reassure, the sitter.

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