"We are subject to misunderstandings about the meaning of certain expressions and certain facts, because of the habit of interpreting others according to our own conditions." (ALLAN KARDEC)

From the work What is Spiritism, in Chapter II – Elementary Notions of Spiritism, topic “Difficulties of Mediumship”, we highlight the following item:

76. An important fact to consider is that obsession, whatever its nature, is independent of mediumship, and that it is found, of all degrees, especially of the last [subjugation], in a large number of people who never heard of Spiritism.

In fact, Spirits, having existed at all times, have always exerted the same influence; mediumship is not a cause, but a simple way of manifesting this influence; so we can say with certainty that every obsessed medium suffers in any way and often in the most common acts of his life the effects of this influence which, without mediumship, would manifest itself through other effects, often attributed to these mysterious diseases that escape the investigations of medicine. Through mediumship, the malefic being denounces its presence; without it, it is a hidden enemy, one who you do not suspect. ⁽¹⁾ (our emphasis)

In principle, this speech by Allan Kardec (1804-1869) would be in complete contradiction with the thought that everyone who is influenced by the Spirits is, for that very reason, a medium, as also said by the Encoder in the article "Schools of mediums", published in February in the Spiritist Magazine 1859:

Mediumship is a multiple faculty, and it presents an infinite variety of nuances in its means and effects. Whoever is able to receive or transmit the communications of the Spirits is, for this very reason, a medium, whichever way is used or the degree of development of the faculty, from a simple occult influence to the production of the most unusual phenomena. […]. ⁽²⁾ (emphasis added)

The question that we can propose is: would there be any human being who is not influenced by the Spirits? We all receive influence, the problem is that, for the most part, it is hidden, and this is why it is not noticed.

Let's look at these two questions from The Book of Spirits:

459. Do Spirits influence our thoughts and actions?

"Much more than you imagine, for they are often the ones who direct you."

460. In addition to our own thoughts, are there others that are suggested to us?

Your soul is a thinking Spirit. Do not ignore that many thoughts occur to you at the same time on the same subject and often quite contradictory. Well then! In them there is always a little of you and a little of us, and that is what leaves you uncertain, because you have two ideas in you that fight each other. ⁽³⁾ (our emphasis)

What we observe from Allan Kardec's questions and from the answers of the Spirits is that it is not said that the influence of the Spirits is restricted only to those we designate as mediums, that is, it is something general and that applies to all of us. Now, if as said, everybody is subject to the influence from the Spirits and considering that everyone who is influenced to some degree is, therefore, a medium, then it is not improper to conclude that we are all mediums.

This can no doubt be corroborated in The Book of Mediums, Chapter XV – Writing mediums and psychographers, topic “Inspired or involuntary mediums, item 182:

Anyone who receives, through thought, both in his normal state and state of ecstasy, communications foreign to his preconceived ideas, can be included in the category of inspired mediums. […] The inspiration of the Spirits that influence us for good or for ill, but it comes mainly from those who want our good and whose advice we reject very often. It applies to all circumstances of life in the resolutions we must make. In this regard, it can be said that all are mediums, because there is no one who does not have their protective and family Spirits, who do everything to transmit good thoughts to their protected. […]. ⁽⁴⁾ (our emphasis)

Thus, it is quite evident that we are all mediums, and here the concept is in the broad sense and not in the ostensible one, a theme that we will discuss a little further on.

In The Book of Mediums, Chapter XXXI – Spiritist dissertations, message X, entitled “About the mediums!”, is signed by the Spirit Channing; from which we highlight:

All men are mediums, all have a Spirit that directs them towards good, when they know how to listen. Whether some communicate directly with him, making use of a special mediumship, or others do not listen except through the inner voice of their hearts and with their intelligence, it matters little: it is still a familiar Spirit who advises them. Call it Spirit, reason, intelligence, it is always a voice that answers your soul and speaks good words to you. You just don't always understand it.

At the end of the message, Channing concludes:

Listen to that inner voice, that good genius that speaks to you constantly, and you will gradually come to hear your guardian angel, from the heights of Heaven, he extends his hands to you. I repeat: the inner voice that speaks to the heart is that of good Spirits and it is from this point of view that all men are mediums. ⁽⁵⁾ (emphasis added)

So, if we weren't all mediums, how would each one of us communicate with his guardian angel or with the familiar Spirits who show us affection?

In The Book of Spirits: in answer to question 495, the Spirits Saint Louis and Saint Augustine state that "Each guardian angel has his “protégé”, by whom he watches over, as a father watches over his son." and adds:

[…] It is these communications of each one with his familiar Spirit that make all men mediums, mediums ignored today, but which will manifest later and will spread like an ocean without limits, to reject disbelief and ignorance. […]. ⁽⁶⁾ (our italics)

From the message of the Spirit Halevy, entitled “A Mediumship and Inspiration”, published in the Spiritist Magazine 1869, in March, we highlight the following excerpt:

Under its infinitely varied forms, mediumship encompasses the entire Humanity, like a network from which nothing can escape. Everyone being in daily contact, whether they know it or not, whether they want to or they revolt with it, with free minds, there is not a man who can say: I am not, I was not or I will not be a medium. Under the intuitive form, a way of communication which people call the voice of conscience, each one is in relationship with various spiritual influences, which advise in one direction or another, and often simultaneously or for the absolute good; or the accommodation with interests; or evil in all its nakedness. […]. ⁽⁷⁾ (italics in the original, bold ours)

This condition will be easier to understand, as we continue the transcription of the paragraph that has only begun, but without having gone to the end of the explanations. So, let's go back to the article “Mediums’ Difficulties”, in the Spiritist Magazine 1859:

However, in its ordinary use, this word has a more restricted meaning, and it is generally said, when referring to people endowed with a very great mediumistic power, either to produce physical effects or to transmit the thoughts of the Spirits by writing or by word. ⁽⁸⁾ (our italics)

In the following paragraph, Allan Kardec continues: “Although this faculty is not an exclusive privilege, it is certain that it finds the unsubmissive, at least in the sense given to it; […].” ⁽⁹⁾ (our italics) If mediumship “is not an exclusive privilege”, consequently, it is for the very simple reason that it is a general faculty, that is, of everyone.

In The Book of Mediums, Chapter XXI – Influence of the environment, we read:

232. It would be a mistake to believe that one needs to be a medium in order to attract beings from the invisible world to him. They populate the space, are constantly around us, by our side, seeing us, observing us, intervening in our meetings, following us or fleeing from us, as we attract or repel them. The mediumistic faculty has no bearing on this: it is just a means of communication. […]. ⁽¹⁰⁾ (our italics)

Allan Kardec clarifies that it is not necessary to be a medium to attract the Spirits because they "are constantly around us, by our side". It is true, but we have to differentiate between "attracting" and feeling or receiving influence from the Spirits, which is already transferred to the field of mediumistic faculty.

We will return to what was said in the Spiritist Magazine 1859, now taking from what appears in Chapter V – On Mediums, from the book Practical Instructions on the Manifestations of Spirits, so that it is clear that the word medium, as understood by the Encoder, has two distinct meanings. The text is unique; we will divide it into two parts just highlight them:

Broad meaning: Every person who suffers in any way the influence of the Spirits is, for this very reason, a medium. This faculty is inherent in man and, therefore, is not an exclusive privilege. For this reason, there are few individuals in which simple rudiments of mediumship are not found. It can therefore be said that all or almost all people are mediums.

Restricted meaning: However, in current usage, this qualification only applies to those in which the mediumistic faculty is clearly characterized and is reflected by overt effects, of a certain intensity, which then depends on a more or less sensitive organization. It should be noted, moreover, that this faculty does not reveal itself in all people in the same way. ⁽¹¹⁾ (our emphasis)

It is because of these explanations that the two meanings of the term medium can be distinguished. We can say that in the broad sense, we are all mediums, in the restricted sense, only those in which this faculty is evident, to the point of producing the phenomena of physical effects or transmitting the thoughts of the Spirits, that is, it is an ostensive medium. This is the distinction that most Spiritists do not make.

We understand that only those who do not pay attention to this detail, i.e., the two meanings for the term medium, will be able to judge that there is a contradiction in the speech of Allan Kardec that we mentioned right at the beginning.

In Ostensive Medium, a publication by the Area of​​Mediumistic Orientation of UEM – Uniao Espirita Mineira (Spiritist Union in the State of Minas Gerais), in topic 7 – Ostensive Medium, we read:

The word “ostensive” means proper to be seen. Applied to the word “medium”, it defines that well-characterized mediumistic faculty, which is shown or translated “(…) by overt effects, of a certain intensity, which then depends on a more or less sensitive organization. ⁽¹²⁾ These are the cases of writing mediums, speaking mediums, seer mediums, among other modalities. In addition, the Encoder explains that the faculty is not identical in all: "Generally, mediums have a special aptitude for phenomena of this or that order, as a result of which they form as many varieties as there are kinds of manifestations” (¹³⁾. Thus, it came to be called medium not those people who generically record the influence of Spirits, but those who specifically translate it into physical and intelligent phenomena. ⁽¹⁴⁾ (our italics)

An opinion that we think it is opportune to mention is that of Jose Herculano Pires (1914-1979), which appears in the footnote of The Book of Mediums, translated by himself:

Mediumship is a human faculty like any other. No one can claim not to have it, as everyone has feelings, intuition, extrasensory perceptions, precognitive dreams, and so on. Like the other faculties, God distributes it according to the evolutionary needs of each creature. […]. ⁽¹⁵⁾ (emphasis added)

The answer to the question in the title is: yes, we have no doubt that any individual who is in an obsessive process, since it occurs by the action of a disembodied Spirit, is a medium, even though he does not have a mediumship programmed for the psychic work.

In our e-book Are we all mediums? ⁽¹⁶⁾, we developed this theme in greater depth, which is why we recommend it to those interested in this matter.

______________

Notes:

1 – KARDEC, What is Spiritism. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2001, p. 177.

2 – KARDEC, Spiritist Magazine 1859. Araras (SP): IDE, 1993, p. 29.

3 – KARDEC, The Book of Spirits. Brasilia: FEB, 2013, p. 230.

4 – KARDEC, The Book of Mediums. Brasilia: FEB, 2013, p. 185-186.

5 – KARDEC, The Book of Mediums. Brasilia: FEB, 2013, p. 393-394.

6 – KARDEC, The Book of Mediums. Brasilia: FEB, 2013, p. 240-241240-241.

7 – KARDEC, Spiritist Magazine 1869. Araras (SP): IDE, 2001, p. 94-95.

8 – KARDEC, Spiritist Magazine 1859. Araras (SP): IDE, 1993, p. 29.

9 – KARDEC, Spiritist Magazine 1859. Araras (SP): IDE, 1993, p. 29.

10 – KARDEC, The Book of Mediums. Brasilia: FEB, 2013, p. 248.

11 – KARDEC, Practical instructions on the manifestation of Spirits. In: Spiritist Initiation. Sao Paulo: Edicel, 1986, p. 251.

12 – KARDEC. The Book of Mediums, Chapter XIV, item 159. Transcript Note (TN)

13 – KARDEC. The Book of Mediums, Chapter, XIV, item 159. (TN)

14 – EMU, Ostensive Mediums. (PDF). Belo Horizonte: UEM, 2013, p. 18.

15 – KARDEC, The Book of Mediums. Sao Paulo: LAKE, 200, p. 183.

16 – SILVA NETO SOBRINHO, P. Are we all mediums? available at: click here

Accessed on: September 17th 2021.