The Sanctuary


In 2007 a small group of interested people decided to set up a
home circle dedicated to learning and understanding more about Physical
Mediumship.
This circle was named the Bristol Spirit Lodge - as Chris, whose home
hosted the circle and who created the idea, lived in Bristol at the time.
The BSL grew and evolved over time with many sitters and mediums coming
and going. I myself developed my own abilities as a Trance and Transfiguration
medium but the hoped for physical phenomena didn't appear to be on the agenda.
Much of the early development records as experienced by myself are
recorded in this blog up to the point where I really felt I was unable to add
anything new to the record.

In May 2013, some 5 yrs down the line, the BSL has relocated to Clevedon
and gone from strength to strength. Numerous new home circles have spun off and
have set up on their own and links to many others have been created
6 months ago, a young lady, wife and Mum contacted Chris to enquire
about physical mediumship. One thing led to another and she has now been sitting
in her own circle within the BSL for development with some amazing results. The
speed and level of her development has been stunning.

A few months ago, her spirit team who have been communicating through
direct voice whilst Emily has been in deep trance, told us that they wished to
form a small closed circle to sit weekly with a handful of dedicated sitters in
support to start what they called the “serious work”.

Last week was the inaugural sitting of the closed circle and what
follows below will be my own subjective account of my personal experiences
during this and subsequent sittings.
Chris will continue to update her own account of course on the BSL
on-line diary. My own diary in no way replaced these, this is just my own
personal record for my own interest and for anyone else who wants to follow.




To read the full diary and objective accounts of the other circles that meet in the Sanctuary, visit the main site at: http://www.spirit-lodge-diary.blogspot.com/




Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tuesday 27th November

7.30am Wednesday morning and I’ve just noticed that Chris has linked this site in her post on the Spirit Lodge Diary, so I’d better post my notes quickly today rather than the usual 2 or 3 days I normally take!

I arrived last night with a strong feeling that the evening was going to be different to what we’ve come to accept as ‘normal’ for our physical circle. I’d been feeling a ‘presence’ or energy around me from about 4pm. And once I was driving towards Bristol this sensation seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.
However, once I’d arrived it seemed to disappear altogether which left me wondering if perhaps I’d just imagined it all – a product of an over active imagination?

Once we were in the Lodge and the door and vent seals were closed (to ensure total blackout) I strapped Brian into the chair and closed the cabinet curtains. Everyone settled into their seats and after last weeks suspected physical touch by spirit, we made sure that everyone was evenly spaced out and could not be touched accidentally, thereby making sure that any future sensations of touch could be definitely attributed to Spirit, rather than unintentional human actions.

I was seated in the North Corner opposite the cabinet but as the lights were dimmed and the opening prayer read out, I didn’t feel a particularly strong energy there and I was looking forward to an interesting night.
Within seconds of the first song starting (allowing for the slight delay as our technology challenged leader struggled to get the right CD going ;-) ) we heard all four cable ties being released.
The usual creaking and groaning, banging and thumping noises came from the cabinet for a few minutes and then the toys started to get ejected into the room.

One unusual aspect was that one of the objects landed just by my foot with a light thump. I took this to be one of the rubber rings which being 4 or 5 inches in diameter are quite heavy, so I was quite surprised to see at the end of the evening that what had landed by my foot was actually one of the plastic maracas. This is a fairly light weight toy that has a very distinctive rattle but it had travelled 8 feet from the cabinet and hit the floor without rattling at all.

We soon heard the sounds of more attempts/preparation for Direct Voice as an assortment of gurgles, wheezes and spluttering came from the cabinet. This died down for a little while and there was suddenly the most enormous crash to my left where Lynn was seated. It was so loud and so heavy that I assumed that the chair from the cabinet, complete with entranced medium had been brought into the room and literally dropped on to the floor.
…Unfortunately the chair had connected with Lynn’s left knee in the process, for which we did get an apology later on.

There was then a few minutes calm while we practised our singing before another attempt was made to make contact with us again. This time the ‘voice’ was projected clearly into the room quite loudly and a very clear “hello” sounded out.
This was followed by the comments “Busy” in response to Chris’ greeting, “Very Busy” came across again before going back to more vocal exercises.

Around this time I felt a huge wash of energy surge into the room and around me, the temperature (especially around my legs) dropped rapidly and I started to feel really cold.
About this time there was some loud knocking on the floor in the centre of the room and (believing that Brian was going to be stretched out on the floor having been deposited there complete with chair earlier on) I imagined that perhaps they were using his hands to beat in time with the music.
For a few seconds this seemed entirely logical until I heard the counter beat coming from within the cabinet.
This went on for a minute or two, clearly demonstrating that none of us and certainly not Brian were making the thumping noises which proved that it was spirit that were causing the sounds in time with the music.

This was followed by another attempt at experimenting with different sounds and vocal ranges with direct voice and we then heard a clear voice greeting us from within the cabinet.
Initially I thought it was the Chief and that the different voice quality was a side effect of being ‘worn out’ by all the extra activity, but our visitor quickly identified himself as Brian’s Granddad and we had an interesting chat about his previous life, his character and an explanation as to why he’d not come through so clearly before.

Once he’d gone, the Chief came through loud and strong with his own unique blend of wit and sense of humour. …He must’ve been a bugger to live with in his last life here.
He asked Chris about the different activities we made nearly a year ago when we first started the circle, about why we were interested or drawn towards the Scole Experiment.
I felt that he was rather obliquely asking us to question ourselves as to where we were going and what the expectations were for the Healing circle on a Friday. Why, I have no idea but I suspect in due course it’ll fall into place. He seemed to be quite intent on making a point of it but without being drawn into anything specific.

He also talked about Brian’s trance state and his need to relax more deeply, requesting a specific change to the ‘going off’ music to enable a deeper trance state to be more easily reached. –taking the opportunity to take the Mick out of Brian’s ability to sleep standing up, sitting down or even working.

We were then allowed to put our own questions to him which he answered clearly and concisely. Clarifying the way he sometimes answered our questions and sought his own advice and guidance to make sure we heard the clearest response.

I asked about how best to react or respond when different ‘energies’ were present in the room and was given some good and very supportive advice on when to ‘go with the flow’ and when to resist.

When the time came to finally close the séance, Chris struggled manly (womanly?) with the CD controls before finally admitting defeat and we resorted to singing 10 Green Bottles to give Brian time to return to consciousness.

When the lights were back on, we saw that he chair was on the floor next to Lynn and Brian was cross legged on the floor in the cabinet. Everything else was strewn around the room and the cable ties were open, the belt still securely around the chair.
Unfortunately due to a technical glitch we didn't get a tape recording of the evenings events, so this is my best effort at total recall. Apologies to all if I've missed anything vital or if my version differs from yours.

The teams’ progress took another huge step forward with clear and loud direct voice as well as Granddad Phil speaking clearly and with great control through Brian.

Thanks again to everyone on both sides for making everything possible.
..and for making ‘nothing’ impossible.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Tuesday 20th November

This evening was set to be interesting not the least because this was to be the first time that we were inviting an outside guest to join the circle.
Although we’ve had a number of sitters come for an evening or two, they have either been members of the Friday group or experienced members of other physical circles.

This was the first time we had invited someone to join us who was coming in cold with a certain level of scepticism. He confirmed afterwards that he had expected to come and reveal fraud at worst, self deception at best.

David (our guest) & I arrived about 20 minutes before the séance start and he had plenty of time to get acquainted with the others before going into the Lodge.
As the guest, David was invited to fasten the cable ties around Brian’s wrists and ankles, securing him to the chair.
Then he tied the waist tie with a fast knot. Brian invited him to make the cable ties as secure as he liked and when he was happy with everything and confident that Brian wasn’t going anywhere, the curtains were drawn over the cabinet and we all sat down.

David was seated directly opposite the cabinet. This placed him in the North Corner which was a far from the Brian as possible (just in case of any unexpected movements) but also the place where the most energy is concentrated.

The lights were turned off and the music started. Within the first minute the cable ties could be heard being popped off. Then the usual thumps and bangs as the chair was moved around in time to the music.
The bells were thrown into the room, then Dave (a regular sitter, seated next to the cabinet) said that he had felt something touch first one foot and then the other.

The other articles in the cabinet were ejected and then Brian’s sweater was thrown onto David (our Guest) lap.

The spirit team then worked some more on the extension of the direct voice that they are working towards. Usually this only lasts for about 5 minutes or so, but tonight there were 3 separate and distinct ‘goes’ at getting voice like sounds. Each one lasting 5 minutes or more. It’s difficult to guess how long it will be until they are able to communicate with us directly, but at this rate, it’s not going to be long now.

Eventually the Chief’s now familiar chuckle was heard, signifying that Brian’s trance had been lightened to a state where he could be used to relay a conversation with us.
Both David and myself asked several questions about the nature of the spiritual dimension and details about the transition from physical to spiritual being.

Interestingly the Chief seemed to hesitate in his answers a couple of times, seeming to go away to confer before coming back and explaining in more detail the answers to our questions.
It seemed unlikely that he wouldn’t have know the answers, but our most likely supposition is that the answers as delivered would have to be suitably phrased for all of all the members present. Everyone being on their own pathway, may or may not have been ready to hear the answers in any given level of detail perhaps?
I’ll be looking for further clarification on this next week if I can.

About 2/3rds of the way through the evening, I felt what I thought to be David’s knee briefly touch mine. As we were sitting at about 45 deg to each other, it occurred to be that he may have shifted position to get more comfortable. Just to be sure I let me knee relax slightly to the left and felt the pressure of what I assumed to be his knee again. I immediately moved my legs to the right as a precaution.
Playing ‘footsie’ with my neighbour in blackout conditions might send completely the wrong message altogether ;-)
A little while later I felt something press against my right foot. Now feeling that my companions both to my left and right were being rather generous with their personal space, I remained very static and restricted for the rest of the evening!

The following day David called me up to ask me to pass on his appreciation to the rest of the circle and to say that the evening had given him a lot to think about. And while his expectation had been to find fraud, what he had found had impressed him and seemed to be genuine.
He asked me if ‘hand on heart’ I had touched him during the séance. I told him about having felt his knee push against mine after which I moved out of the way.

But he was more interested in the fact that someone had seemed to ‘tug’ at the crease of his shirt sleeve. I had had my hands in my lap the whole time and so could guarantee I’d not touched him.
I asked if he’d noticed our knee’s clashing. However, he said had been deliberately keeping his legs away from mine to avoid any chance of self deception.

So now, I had felt my left knee being pressed on the side, my right foot ‘tapped’ and David had felt someone ‘tug’ at his shirt sleeve.
The other Dave on the opposite side of the room had had the rubber ring placed between his feet –after having felt it touch his toes on both feet consecutively.

OK, so not objective physical proof in that we have defined this as being something that 2 or more witnesses experience simultaneously. But definitely worth capturing for the record as (if this was indeed genuine -as I believe it to be) this could be the start of a new level of activity and physical evidence.

The circle was drawn to a close and Brian’s chair was found sitting in the room outside the cabinet minus Brian who was cross legged on the floor inside. The ring was between Dave’s feet, the sweater at David’s feet and the rattles beneath Sandy’s chair.
Our guest was given the cable ties for examination at his leisure after being given the opportunity to examine everything in the cabinet just to confirm that there was no room for anything untoward to have been going on. He also confirmed that the belt was knotted just the way he had left it an hour and half before.

Thanks again to Brian for enabling spirit to come through and to the Chief and his team on the other side for all their work.

Next update following next Tuesday’s circle.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Tuesday 13th November.

It’s now just over 10 months since the physical circle first came together. In that time we have all tried out in the cabinet more than once (with the exception of Chris, who prefers to stay well clear of that area herself –providing a source of endless amusement for the rest of us!) and have discovered that we have one member who is particularly well suited to physical mediumship. We have 2 new trance mediums, a mental medium and an established Healing Circle.

The physical circle is starting to make real progress now and this week was particularly interesting.

We started off with nearly a full house of sitters –only Paul was missing due to work commitments. Chris’ mum-in-law had knitted an oversize ‘tank-top’ as a contribution to keeping Brian (the physical medium) warm during the séance as winter is setting in.
We thought it would be interesting to ask if Spirit could remove the sweater during the evening. I’m not sure what we really expected to happen but it seemed like a good idea to at least ask.
Brian, now attractively sporting a black sleeveless jumper, sat down and to relieve Chris of the task of having to get too close to the cabinet, I threaded the cable ties through the loops on the chair and secured his wrists and ankles firmly. More firmly than usual as Brian was keen to eliminate any possibility that he could ‘escape’, as our newest member was joining the circle for the first time in blackout.

The waist belt I also tied up closely around his waist and pulled the knot tight.
With the curtains closed and jokes still emanating from behind the curtains, we took our seats and Chris opened the circle with the prayer.

I was sitting with my back to the door next to the ‘north corner’ and as soon as the lights were out I felt the now familiar swirling sensations as energy built up rapidly in the room. Within 30 seconds, the cable ties were heard to ‘pop’ in quick succession. Rocking and banging sounds followed and the two large rings landed in the room.

The webbing strap with bells attached (velcroed to the base of the chair) then appeared to be gently thrown or dropped into Chris’ lap. Chris sits immediately to the right of the cabinet at about 45 degrees to the front of it. This is the first time that anything being ‘ejected’ has come out at anything other than a straight line.
Thinking that this had been done quite deliberately but wanting more confirmation, she asked if something else could be similarly done for someone else in the room.

About 10 minutes later, there was a clear and distinct sound of something landing right next to me and falling to the floor.
Later, at the end of the session when the lights came on, the new black sweater was found to be lying by my side.
Was this a near miss at repeating the soft drop of the bells in Chris’ lap? I don’t know for sure, but I can be certain that I was not aware of anything being ‘thrown’ towards me. But then again, there were no bells on the jumper so would I have noticed the difference between a thrown object or a dropped one?

Does it really matter though? I mean, I had personally tied Brian into the chair with plastic cable ties and a 2 inch wide judo belt.
What I found most interesting about the whole evening though, was the awareness that I had that there was actually someone ‘else’ in the room with us.
This was the first time that I had felt the ‘physical’ presence of the spirit team in the room.
Probably sounds a bit odd to say this, considering everything that’s happened over the past 10 months and the 24 times we’ve sat with Brian for a physical séance, but this actually felt as though there was another person in the room.

All this aside, the rest of the evening was fascinating as the direct voice became tantalisingly close. For the first time we actually had 2 way communication and could make out clear attempts at speech (go to the Spirit Lodge Journal and follow the link in the official report to hear for yourself)

Then later on, when the Chief came through to update us, we had an opportunity to ask our own questions about what was going on, the energies being used, different forms of physical evidence and the practical aspects of ‘thought’ as an energy in the physical world –both for positive and negative use. The answers we had were detailed and concise. Everything was recorded on tape for reference and if anyone has any questions, feel free to either post them here or send me or Chris an email and we’ll be happy to answer as best we can.

Jon

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Tuesday 6th November

Tonights circle consisted of myself, Chris, Sandy & Alan (Chris' husband)

Brian was back this evening in the ‘cabinet’ and as we settled down and he was secured into the chair, humour was running high –as were the spirits.

A slight change this week was the addition of soft cords tied firmly around his wrists, as well as the standard plastic cable ties that we’ve been using for some 6 months or so now.
The waist tie has also been replaced with a stout red cotton belt –the same kind as is used for a Judo or Karate Gi.

Chris tied him in and I went up to check on everything, tightening the tie wraps and also re-tying the waist belt. I have been practicing Judo myself now for over 25 years and as many who have worn a Gi will now, there is a particular shape to the knot used to secure the belt.
Without mentioning to anyone else, I re-tied the knot as would with my own Judo belt.

Each week now for several months, Brian has been removed from the chair and the belt has appeared to remain tied to the chair, suggesting that either Brian has been “transported” through the belt or that belt had been “de-materialised” to allow Brian to be moved out of the chair –or the belt has been untied and re-tied during the blackout.

I’ll come back to the details of the séance shortly, but when the lights came back up at the end of the evening, Brian was out of the chair, lying on his back stretched out under the chair -looking quite comfortable for a change!
The cable ties had been popped off (within the first few minutes of the blackout) with the fastening mechanism turned inside out.
The ropes that were around his wrists were still in place on the chair and the toys were in the main room where they had been thrown earlier in the evening.

But when I looked carefully at the waist tie, I excited to see that my knot not been touched and was still in place exactly as I had left it. The ‘tails’ of the belt were hanging down vertically just as a perfectly tied Judo belt should be. Either Brian has a black belt in one of the Martial Arts or Spirit truly did “de-materialise” either him or the belt.
I know this is seemingly a minor point, but it’s the smallest things sometimes that give the greatest proof.

Within the first 30 seconds of the blackout we heard the first cable tie being stretched. Precisely what happens is not completely clear, but the sound is a short “creaking” noise for a few seconds, followed by a dull ‘pop’. When you look at the cable ties afterwards, the plastic ‘ratchet’ that provides the one-way self locking mechanism has been turned inside out. –I took one home once, put it in a bench vice and with a pair of heavy duty pliers did my very best to physically duplicate the broken locking ratchet.
I eventually gave up. I’m not overly small (13 stone / 180 pounds) but there was no way I could duplicate the effects on the cable ties at room temperature!
& given that Brian is secured by one of these at wrists and ankles, once again the only feasible explanation is that Spirit Energy is manifesting into the room and proving their existence through undeniable physical evidence.
….Way to go Spooks!

Once our spirit friends had released Brian from his captivity, there were a few very loud bangs and sounds of the bells (secured with Velcro to the base of the chair) being removed. They were then ejected from the cabinet and landed in the north corner of the room next to me.
A pair of rubber rings (about 4 inches/10cm in diameter) joined together by another strip of bells on Velcro then came flying out into the room, knocking the upright trumpet (a 2 foot long aluminium cone) for six. Four pairs of cheeks left their respective chairs by a couple of inches when that bang happened!

Immediately after, knocks and bangs could be heard from the cabinet, most of which were clearly in time with the music and the singing. The sounds of a strange, resonant humming was then heard which sounded very much like an attempt at a voice. This then became a odd echoe’y ‘whistling’. All we needed was the clanking of chains and the picture would have been complete!!

After about 15 minutes or so, things quietened down and we soon heard the familiar chuckle of the chief as Brian’s trance level was brought back to a point where he could be used as a channel for communication.

I had a chance to ask some questions about ‘connecting’ with the circle when we were absent from a sitting for whatever reason (I often miss a night or two once every few months due to work/travel) and was interested to hear that depending on our mood and intent, focusing thought and energy into the circle, even when physically absent, could still help build the energy within the séance and assist spirit in their work.

I also asked how the Lodge was perceived from the spirit world, whether the sprit team saw it as a ‘physical’ place with dimensions as we do. The answer was clear, that it is seen as a physical location and that when we sit, a light emanates in the spirit dimension from the mediums and sitters that attracts/notifies the spirit team to our intention and presence.
He also explained that he himself is already ‘with’ Brian before hand and enters the lodge ‘with’ him, just as we do.

There was more detail and the Chief took time to make sure that we clearly understood the finer points and nuances of what was being explained. If you’d like more detailed review, or indeed if there are any particular questions burning in your mind, drop me an email or leave a comment and I’ll answer as best I can.
..and if I can’t, well, I know a man who can!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Tuesday 30th October

This weeks circle was dedicated to development of the sitters. As I ended up taking an active part in the evening I won’t describe what took place myself, but I want instead record my thoughts and some opinions on mediumship and also.
We should be back to business as usual next week

It was my first time back having missed the last three weeks due to work and holidays and it was great to be back in the familiar surroundings of the Lodge and to see friends again.
Over the past few weeks I had decided that I was no longer really interested in ‘being’ a medium and that to a large extent I felt happy to leave Spirit to the spirit world – We’ll all be there soon enough anyway and the general quality of communication through most of today’s ‘mediums’ is of such a variable standard that I felt that if I was going to do this work I would either do it with clarity and accuracy or not at all.

There are far too many people out there today who claim to be having guidance from spirit and to have the authority to offer that guidance to others. Yet when you look carefully, the vast majority of what is offered as advice and messages from loved ones and from guides, is one the whole predictable and banal. At worst it is self serving and self aggrandising ego flattery.
How many times have I heard mediums telling the attentive listener that Grandma or Mum wants to wrap you in love, or in ‘the colour pink’ or that she’s ‘giving you flowers’ etc etc.
It’s hardly surprising that the sceptics have such a strong platform on which to stand.

It’s easy to be sucked into this kind of comforting advice and believe that you have to act on the advice from Granny. Or that the search for enlightenment is more important than the living of your physical life.
Always remember that you are here in the physical form to live a physical life. Not to be lost purely in the search for the non physical.

Having said all that, I was somewhat surprised as I left work on Tuesday evening to find that I was aware of the presence of a spirit energy with me as I was driving down towards Bristol.
Still, regardless of my intentions not to be a medium for the benefit of others, I was happy enough to feel their presence even if I had no desire to pass on any ‘messages’.

When I finally arrived at the circle I was not totally shocked to hear that Brian (the physical medium) wasn’t able to make it and so with our reduced numbers we were going to have a Trance night. Just Paul, Chris and myself.

As we sat chatting in the house before going on into the lodge, time was passing and we’d not noticed that 8pm had arrived. Oddly enough, at 8pm on the dot, Chris’ phone rang just once. Probably just a wrong number but it caused us to notice that we were about to miss our ‘agreed’ start time with Spirit and we made it into the shed right on time.

Once in, we looked to Chris to see what FC had given to her as instructions for the night. Nothing! Zip!
OK, so it was up to us. I suggested to Paul that he take the cabinet (I was still of the mind that I had no desire to do anymore mediumship work) and I decided to take the north corner to see if I could experience the increased levels of energy that the others had reported feeling there as I’d never sat there myself.

As the first track started on the CD player, I felt myself drifting off almost immediately and I was very aware of the different feeling of energy again as the same presence that had been with me earlier came close again.
I had no problem with this and welcomed ‘him’ to come as close as he wanted -at this point I still thought that Paul in the cabinet was going to be the medium for the evening.

However, it turned out the spirit who was close to me had other plans :-)
After maybe 10 minutes I felt my head –which had been drooping forward as I relaxed and drifted into a kind of meditative state- raise up and sit straight on my shoulders. I was completely ‘aware’ as usual. I felt much as I do when meditating, kind of ‘there’ but ‘not there’, so when Chris started asking if there was a spirit person who wanted to communicate, I was still expecting Paul to finally break his silence and get going.
But as Chris asked the second time, I felt and ‘urge’ to start talking and simply say hello.

I’m actually very new to Trance myself, having only been actually practising for about 6 months now since my very first attempt. However, I’ve noticed the pattern for me is to start drifting off, then feel compelled to lift my head up and say something. As soon as I start to use my voice, I feel the energy increase dramatically around the top and sides of my head.

This evening –maybe because of my position in the north corner- the energy increase was tremendous. So much so that the main focus of my attention was drawn to the physical sensations in and around my body, rather than ‘thinking’ about what was being said.
I think that it was this that allowed me to become much less ‘involved’ in the process.

The details of what actually went on for the rest of the evening are recorded in the on-line journal and I’ll leave you to make of it what you will.
I’m glad to say though that my decision to leave mediumship behind has now also been left behind. I’ll still stay away from any form of ‘readings’ for others as I strongly believe that 95% of mediums today tend to be 70% medium and only 30% spirit. When in Trance, the ratio comes much closer to 50/50. A really top medium (and there are some around) will be more like 70% or 80% spirit and only 30% or 20% human filter.

So all in all, an interesting evening again. Thanks again to the support of the spirit team and in particular the one energy who came forward to work with Paul.
Without their commitment and work, we’d all just be sitting in the dark.