Noah's Ark Seminar at
Burton-on-Trent, 1998,
by Lew Sutton
For the third year running the Noah's Ark
Society held their Spring Physical Phenomena seminar near Burton-on-Trent. The
seminar stretched from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Once again it was a packed
programme with two seances, eight lectures, six workshops, two healing sessions
and a trance demonstration. These seminars are usually served by two physical
mediums Stewart Alexander and Colin Fry. On this occasion Stewart had to cancel
at the last moment due to a recent emergency operation. However, delegates were
greatly indebted to Colin Fry who stepped in and provided two seances instead of
the usual one by each medium.
The seminar started with Colin Fry's trance
demonstration with one of his controls, Magnus, answering eleven questions over
a wide range of topics ranging from is the energy in radio transmissions
upsetting mediumship to - are guides who they purport to be? The answer to the
first question is No and the second question is more complex, a Yes, No and
sometimes!
The lectures were on the following
subjects: Good Vibrations by Judge Smith; A Personal View of Leslie Flint by
David E, Edwards; Helen Duncan - The Final Chapter by Mary Armour (recent
research by Mary on Helen's life); Is the Machine the Medium? by Malcolm Lewis;
Bringing Science to the Seance by Hylton Thompson; Microphone in a Box Method of
Communication by Dominic Macquire; and finally, Arthur Conan Doyle - The Man,
the Spiritualist, the Spirit, by Garth Willey from Australia.
Within minutes of starting the first seance
the trumpet lifted off and began making swift intricate movements in time to the
usual singing. The movements were so fast at times that the luminous bands
appeared as a streaks of light. This phenomena lasted a minute or so then
quickly followed by Francis singing (said to be Judy Garland). She also chatted
and responded to questions and statements made by sitters. Her singing was so
loud it almost hurt our eardrums!
Next to follow was the control known as Charlie who presents himself as a child
- at the age he passed on. Charlie was particularly cheeky on this occasion,
causing much laughter. He wandered around the room speaking and touching several
of those present and relaying a few messages from loved ones in spirit.
After Charlie came Magnus who commenced by experimenting with the microphone in
a box method. The idea is to confine the ectoplasm to a small space to make it
easier for our spirit friends to operate a ectoplasmic voice box. As the
microphone is inside a sealed box, the sound can be amplified to make quiet
whispers audible without the usual problem of "howl" associated with
using a microphone close to a loudspeaker. This turned out to be the first
successful public demonstration of this method of communicating. Magnus then
returned to his usual independent direct voice method of communicating, which
sounded much more natural than the muffled sound produced in the box.
The box method is really intended for inexperienced communicators seeking to
speak to their loved ones and who may only manage to produce a whisper. It is
interesting to note that we could hear what appeared to be the ectoplasm (used
to the box. We were told that a small part of the lid was temporarily
dematerialised for this operation.
Magnus used the rest of his time with us to
answer three questions before retiring. One question concerned the doom and
gloom forecast by some as due to occur with the approaching new millennium.
Answer; those seers that are inspired by fear forecast Armageddon and
apocalypse, those inspired by love talk of the dawning of a new age. What will
be decimated will be that which is not conducive to the progression and
evolvement of God's creation.
The slightly outrageous Dolly came next and entertained us with his cheeky
humour. His main duty this time was to help inexperienced communicators speak to
their loved ones attending the seance. He encouraged communicators to speak and
acted as go-between when they couldn't make themselves heard. Most of the
successful communicators spoke in soft whispers but Mary Armour's father, Jack,
managed to speak almost normally. He produced quick evidential replies to Mary's
questions and statements. This was very good as it was Jack's first return at a
seance and had all the hallmarks of a normal conversation between father and
daughter. Garth Willey from Australia also received a good contact with his
father-in-law.
The seance was brought to a close by
regular communicator Daphne who led a healing prayer for Stewart Alexander. As
is usual, when the lights were turned back on, there was Colin still tied in his
chair but a few feet outside of the cabinet and with one leg through the gap in
the side of the chair. His leg could not be released until untied and lifted out
of the chair by two strong men.
The second seance with Colin followed a similar format to the first. This time
it was Charlie who experimented with the microphone in a box before resuming his
usual independent direct voice (without a trumpet). He was just as full of fun
as in the first seance and this time also rang a small hand bell, showed his
hand against a self illuminated plaque and tried to play a tune on the toy organ
keyboard that had been left on the floor.
Magnus came through next and upon being questioned spoke on the difficulties of
communicating. He said it is as difficult and frustrating for us as it is for
you and that they have to make a supreme effort to communicate. Several
questions concerning the mechanisms of physical phenomena were asked followed by
questions about animals. One interesting theme of questions concerned the
perception of God. Magnus said he perceived God in all things and made the
following simile as regards people. "Often the sun is covered by cloud but
the sun is still there". He also reminded us to think about the state of
mind of those who do monstrous acts such as the recent slaughter of children in
America.
Within seconds of Magnus withdrawing Dolly
came through again. Like the previous day's seance, he acted as a go-between to
help inexperienced communicators get through. The most evidential of the
contacts was for a lady called Rosaline, known as Roz. Her nephew John
communicated via Dolly and gave family details and that of his passing. John and
his friend perished 18 years ago in a Roz said that his voice in the seance room
was very close to that whilst on earth. Another very interesting contact was
made by a gentleman who had very recently passed and due to be cremated two days
later. He communicated to a Royston who was present. He said the gentleman had
been a member of his circle. The seance was brought to a close by Daphne and
again we found Colin outside of the cabinet as before.
The seminar finished with an "Around
the circles and open forum" session. This last item provides a vital
function by motivating members to keep on with their own physical development
circles.
They learn of similar problems and successes and know that they are not alone in
their endeavours to help make physical phenomena much more widespread in
contemporary Spiritualism. Ten circles reported various types of phenomena so
the future looks promising.
So there we are, another very successful and enjoyable Noah's Ark seminar held
in comfortable and conducive surroundings. No doubt many will have returned to
their own circles with renewed enthusiasm and inspiration to carry on with what
can be a long process of dedicated effort to expand the channels of
communication between the two worlds.
