About Trance

What is Trance Mediumship?

Trance mediumship is one of the oldest forms of spirit communication, often associated with seances and physical phenomena. Trance itself refers to the altered state of consciousness the medium enters. Like all forms of mediumship many years of study and training are required to work in the trance state. The medium will sit to prepare themselves entering into a state similar to meditation. In this state there are physical changes to the mediums body, such as; a slowing of the heart beat (though some people also experience a quicken of the heart beat); slow, deep breathing; altered brain patterns and lowering of body temperature. There is also an altered awareness of sounds, touch, space and conscious thought. The medium will then allow their spirit communicator (guide) to blend their energies with them. Thereby allowing the spirit being to merge with their physical and subtle bodies, mind and spirit. This process can take several minutes, however in Sarah's case the trance transition occurs very quickly.

In a true trance mediumship state, the essence of the spirit communicator will be felt by those watching and listening. The spirit communicator will be able to impart not only their thoughts but also their personality. Changes to the appearance of the trance medium may also occur, this is not to be confused with transfiguration. As in Sarah's case, her facial features are seen to change as the muscles in her face are altered by her communicator. It is also very common for changes to occur in the spoken voice, these range from tone and depth of the voice, dialect and accents to mannerism and speech patterns. Sarah's trance communicator, Master Chou, is Chinese and has a slight Chinese accent but he also speaks much faster than Sarah and his sentence structure and use of grammar are very different to her own. Physically there are also changes as Master Chou was 102 when he died and hunches over when he speaks, he also gesticulates with his hands far more than Sarah does and sometimes he is seen stroking his beard or playing with his long finger nails.

Working in partnership with spirit

Trance mediumship is a working partnership between medium and communicator. Sometimes it is confused with possession and it should not be. In no way is the trance medium possessed. This is at all times a willing and loving relationship between spirit and medium. The medium always has the control as to when they enter the trance state. Some of this confusion arises because of the use of the word control. Spirit do in deed take control of the trance mediums mind, body and voice but not without permission. The depth of that control also varies. The level of consciousness of the trance medium also varies depending on the intent and conditions of the communication. Trance mediumship therefore has several levels or layers. These refer to the lack of conscious awareness of the medium and amount of control spirit have. They range from light trance to deep trance (or full trance). Deep trance is more often used when working as a physical medium to produce physical mediumship and phenomena. [Such as ectoplasm, apports and apparitions.]

The future for Trance Mediumship

In today's world the language of spirit communication is changing and you will hear of inspirational speaking, overshadowing and channelling. Inspirational speaking is a application of mental mediumship (clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience) where words are impressed on the medium by mind to mind communication. Overshadowing is where spirit wrap themselves around the medium's aura in order to impress thoughts and personality. Channelling is similar to trance mediumship and in some quarters used as an alternative word for trance. But they are not to be confused. Trance is the deeper form of communication where spirit literally join with us at the physical level. Channelling again has many levels of awareness and control but the spirit being does not enter the subtle bodies and physical body to the same degree. Often with channelling there is little or no change to the medium/channels appearance or voice.

Sarah often channels spirit when she is talking to people and teaching. Only occasionally do people notice any change in her voice when this occurs. Channelling is also the state of being used most often when performing automatic writing, where a degree of physical control is required to move the pen but no other physical changes are needed. There is a fine line between channelling and light trance and sometimes these two are hard to tell apart. At the end of the day the purity of what is spoken is what matters. The reason for spirit using these forms of communication is to bring forward clear and unaltered information. By moving the trance medium/channels mind out of the way they do not alter what is spoken and the true message is delivered. Sarah often advises students not to worry about being aware but to let go of needing to be in control. The more you can do that the more you can move your consciousness out of the way.

As the world is changing and seeking more guidance so more and more people are being called on by spirit to act as messengers. Whether you are a psychic, channeller or trance medium it matters not, what matters is only the words that are spoken.

Further Reading

Should you be interested in learning more about trance and physical mediumship why not read up on - Ivy Northage, Eileen Garrett, Ursula Roberts, Helen Duncan or Leslie Flint. Alternatively read some of philosophies given by Silver Birch, Chan, Seth or Ramadan.

These book titles are also links to Amazon.co.uk (opens in a new window):

• Advanced Psychic Development - Becky Walsh
• Spirit Release: A Practical Handbook - Sue Allen
• New Crystals and Healing Stones - Judy Hall
• The Magical Approach - Jane Roberts
• Life Changing Messages - Gordon Smith
• A History Spiritualism - Arthur Conan