The Eagle and the Rose by Rosemary Altea Read Free Book Online

I still feel the same.
    On many occasions since I have become involved with the “paranormal,” as it is called, I have witnessed mediums working in “trance,” and I always ask the same questions: Is it real? Has that person really been taken over by some spirit entity who is speaking through them, or is the trance self-induced? Unfortunately, most of the time I have had to come up with the all-too-usual answer: that the “medium,” consciously or otherwise, is faking! There are many reasons why someone might fake a trance state. Some people so desperately want to be mediums, they may have a need not only to be able to communicate with the spirit world, but to be seen by others to have this ability. Consciously or subconsciously they act the part, often fooling themselves more than others because they think that it looks good. After all, communicating through trance is what real mediums are said to do. I myself through the years have had countless experiences of trance work, some of which I will recount later in this story, but at the beginning of my development it was impossible for me to tell the fake trance from the real, both with myself and with other people. So the only way I felt I could make sure that I wasn't being fooled, or that I wasn't fooling myself, was to remain critical and in control of all situations.
    As I drove home later that evening it occurred to me that my lack of fear was really quite amazing, and I also realized how much at home I had felt. Not so much at the Denhams’ house, but with the idea of making contact with those in spirit. But for what reason I did not yet know.
    Climbing into bed that night, I did what I always do: I prayed silently, asking God for His help and guidance. But this time I put in a special request. Please, I said, give me a sign, let me know if what I am doing is right and if it is what You want.
    I didn't expect my answer to come quite so soon, or in the way that it came, but as soon as I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, His response was immediate and clear.
    I knew instinctively who they were. I heard them quite distinctly, and in total harmony, I heard them singing. Angels—singing!
    Sitting bolt upright, I looked around the room, peering into the corners. Goodness knows what I expected to see, but there was no one there, of course. Still the singing continued, and it really did sound just as you might imagine angels would sound: clear and sweet, their voices holding an ethereal quality.
    And just what, you might ask, were they singing … these angels?
    Well, I'll tell you—they were singing that well-known psalm, the Twenty-third.
    The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
    He makes me down to lie,
    In pastures green, He leadeth me,
    The quiet waters by.
    I lay back down again and listened, as over and over those words were sung. Then, smiling my thanks and like a baby being sung a lullaby, I went to sleep.
    Two weeks later I went with Paul on my first visit to a spiritualist church, in the city of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire. I was a little apprehensive, as I had no idea what to expect. A spiritualist church is run on similar lines to most orthodox churches, the difference being that in place of a minister they would have a speaker, and usually but not always a medium, to conduct the service. After hymns are sung, a short talk is given, the topic concerning life after death, what that may mean to us all, how it can affect our daily lives, and so forth. Prayers are said, and then, if a medium is present, the last twenty to thirty minutes of the service will entail the medium making communication with the spirit world and the giving of messages from those in spirit, via the medium, to members of the congregation. The service always ends with the congregation joining together in prayer that acknowledges the presence of the spirit world and its influence upon us.
    As we sat, waiting for the service to begin, Paul looked through the little hymn