The Spiritist
Society of Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A.
&
GEAE, Advanced
Study Group of Spiritism.
“All moral imperfections are so many open doors, giving access to evil and ignorant spirits; but what brings us most often under their influence is pride, because it is the defect which of all others, we are least apt to recognize in ourselves.”
“Pride has been the ruin of a number of mediums endowed with the highest faculties, and who, but for that defect, might have become equally remarkable and useful; instead of which, their pride having subjected them to the dominion of deceptive spirits, their mediumship faculties have been first perverted, then annihilated, and, in more than one instance, such mediums have brought upon themselves the most humiliating retribution.” [The Mediums Book, Chapt. XX]
Pride shows itself in mediums by unequivocal signs.
- blind confidence in the communications obtained by them and
infallibility of the spirit whom they emanate;
- they disdain whatever does not come through their own mediumship,
and they look at
themselves as having a monopoly of the truth;
- they are dazzled by great names unscrupulously assumed
by the spirits who communicate
through them and their self-love prevents them from seeing they
are being deceived;
- they repel all advice from others and keep away those who might
open their eyes to the reality of their position;
- even if they should condescend to listen to another, they pay
no attention;
- they are offended by contradiction or criticism;
- they may detest those who warn them of their delusion;
- they may withdraw into isolation in which they become the sport
of obsessing spirits, who make them accept the most glaring absurdities as
something sublime.
How do we really know a good medium (one in which we may safely confide)?
(This is in regards to mediums who are endowed with the faculty sufficiently developed to admit of free communication of spirits)
1 - Consider the tenor or tone of the spirit communications obtained
(especially of their spirit guides), NOT the names given by the spirits.
Are they of goodness and of a high moral character?
2 - Does the medium believe his/her mediumship is a gift
to be used for goodness?
3 - Does the medium accept the manifestations made through them
as a blessing of which they should strive to render themselves worthy by
modesty, kindness, and goodwill?
4 - Is the medium rendered more humble by his interaction with
superior spirits?
If the above are answered “yes” then we may conclude that they
are basically a good medium. But, one should still use ones’ reason to
analyze all specific spirit communications.
[The Mediums Book, Chapter XX by Allan Kardec. ]
(Reproduced from
the GEAE's
website with permission from the author and from the editor)