Spiritualism

Sometimes referred to as the science, philosophy, and religion of continuous life is a religious

movement that first emerged in 19th century upstate New York.

Spiritualist thought has been linked to 18th century philosophers, like German doctor

Franz Mesmer and Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg.

Mesmer for example, proposed that everything in the universe, including the human body,

was governed by a magnetic field that could become imbalanced.

Leading Mesmer to introduce the practice of Mesmerism, to induce a hypnotic state that

allegedly allowed him to manipulate the magnetic force that surrounds a person and heal them.

Some of those who were induced into a hypnotic trance, awakened a report of having experienced

visions of spirits lingering in another dimension, trying to reach out to them.

Swedenborg on the other hand, introduced the idea of the in between.

The world of spirits located between heaven and hell, where everyone went immediately upon

dying.

Swedenborg also claimed to have seen and spoken to all kinds of spirits stuck in the

in between.

And that is how spiritualism is principally defined by the belief that the spirits of

the dead persist beyond death, lingering in an invisible spirit world, where they can

communicate with the living through a medium, a gifted individual that can channel their

messages and present them to the living world.

Modern spiritualist point to ancient accounts of spirit contact in the bible as proof of

the existence of the spirit world, like the visit between King Saul and the witch of Endor,

...