[quote Defenbaker]@WiseOldBird I visited a spiritualist church several times after my mother died. I was desperate for some sign from her, some kind of message, so that I could know that she was okay on the other side, and that I had not lost her forever. At first I was hopeful, as some of the mediums seemed to come through with quite precise messages for other people in the audience/congregation. But as time went on I became more cynical and began to question certain aspects. For instance, once the medium said that she had someone there to speak to me, a lady who was "so glad they've found you (me)". My eyes lit up... was this my mother? Then the medium said "Oh, the energy's fading now... it's gone." It seemed to often happen that way, at the time the session was due to end - like the spirits were mindful of not letting the hour long session overrun! But to my mind, if my mother really was there, she'd not have let that medium off so lightly - she'd have been following that medium around, insisting that she tell me things she wanted to say! Or, if the medium was genuine, she could have asked me to wait for her afterwards, so she could pass on messages. Perhaps she was hoping I'd approach her, and ask for a private (and profitable) reading?
After months of disappointment, I stopped going. I was tempted to try another spiritualist church, and feed a few fake details to some of the regulars there, over time, to see what may happen. It would be tempting to invent some background story, mention someone non existent relative who had died in specific unusual circumstances, then wait to see what the medium might come up with. But I felt that would be disrespectful to any geneuine believers there, or genuine mediums.
OP - sorry to hijack thread. In answer to your question - I want to believe that I will see my loved ones again, but my experience at the spiritualist church quashed that hope somewhat. I am agnostic, and have been searching for answers for most of my life, so I am very interested in this subject.[/quote]
I also went to a couple of Spiritualist churches and had a dreadful experience. The mediums seemed like they were giving very general feedback and some of them were in fact quite aggressive about insisting on the content of a message and getting people to accept it. You do have to look around to find a reputable medium and someone who resonates with you. Have a look at some of the sites I mentioned in my post and see if you can find a medium online. Please don’t give up. I can’t tell you how comforting it is to receive a specific genuine message from someone who has crossed. It really causes you to question a lot and puts you on a completely different path. If you can find a shop that sells crystals near you they will often have mediums offering readings to on a face-to-face basis. Try that as an option.