Socialization into the role

In Section 2.2.4, it was described how Biscop (1981) found mediums were socialised into the role of medium through teaching, encouragement in small groups, and learning from more experienced mediums. Socialisation was therefore formulated as a category. Mediums' responses were coded as this category if a text passage contained a theme of socialisation into mediumship: the idea that mediums adopted or internalized the role of a medium through Spiritualist activities or associations with other mediums. Key referents that form the coding rules for assignment to this category consisted of attendance at "Spiritualist church demonstrations", "development groups", "open-circles", "mediumship training courses", or the suggestion in responses that mediumship was discovered or developed in collaboration with other experienced mediums (see Table 4.2). For example, if a medium stated "Mediumship was developed under the guidance of other mediums at

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my local church", or "Communication of discarnate people didn't really come into my understanding until I had a reading at the college when I was told I was clairvoyant" they would be coded under the socialization category. These text passages illustrate how other mediums or spiritual activities might have contributed to the discovery or development of mediumship ability through either teaching mediumship or suggesting to the individual they were a medium.

It should be noted that the text passage could be drawn from the responses to either question 5 ("How did you first discover you had the ability to be a medium?), or question 6 ("Please describe any childhood experiences, events or family influences you think may have contributed to the development of your mediumship ability?") of the mediumship activity questionnaire (MAQ). Although the questions were treated as different enquiries for the purposes of the research i.e. how did you discover your ability and how did you

develop your ability, mediums sometimes tended to combine their responses into one

answer and write as above or as below". Additionally, responses to one answer seemed to cover another i.e. a medium would give descriptions for how they developed their ability in response to the discovered question, and vice versa. It was up to the researcher to filter through the responses and use judgment to decide which discourse responded to which question. It was decided that the same categories would be used for each question, considering that they were both interested in how mediumistic experiences unfolded in respondents' lives. However, responses for how mediums first discovered their mediumship could only be placed in one of the five categories, as the first experience or situation in which their ability was realised was categorised. For the development of mediumship, several variables may have contributed, so there could be more than one category responsible for mediums developing their ability.

Nearly half of the respondents (42 cases, 46.2%) reported first discovering they had the ability to be a medium through socialization: individuals attended a spiritualist church and realized they had mediumship ability or were told they were a medium by an already practising medium. For example, respondents stated the following:

°n attending , spiritualist cbutch tor toe first time, toe guest medium described a similar scenario to my own. ,t was then that I realised / had always been able to communicate with spirit.

I realised I could be a medium when I attended classes at a Spiritualist Church.

I started to sit in a circle to accompany my husband who had been told many times that he is a healer and should sit for development After sitting every week for four months my husband and I went to the Arthur Findlay College and during the course 1 realiceri that what I was seeing was the spirit world. I had previously thought it was all my imagination. Once I had come to this realisation I began to get more communication, more information from the spirit people. Within 18 months of sitting in circle, we took our first service in a church. By attending more courses at the college mv mediumshin developed even more.

Note that in the last extract, the participant cited socialisation (training courses, circles) as contributing to both the discovery and the development of their mediumship. Twenty-nine (31.9%) respondents reported socialization as contributing to the development of their ability. The following quotes represent the essence of the socialization category and what was cited by respondents:

My ability as a medium increased as becoming involved with Spiritualism and it also helped me to develop a greater awareness and test my own capabilities.

I went to see a medium who Invited me to sit in her home circle, which I did for approximately six months. In this time I sat in meditation and became aware of myself and spirit energy. I am a very sceptical person so I had to understand how spirit was able to speak to us and how the process worked, so it was a slow process and took a number of years before I became comfortable with my ability as a medium.

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' * f™ < y I H M s and spiritualists to what was happe„ ing M me.

‘he * ' * “ “ '* ChUrCh it was p M e d M t„ 3t , „ „ ,

and advised that I was to Join t

development was supervised correctly, also to ensure that , was safe and to mavimise my development.

In summary, it is clear from the frequency results that the majority of mediums reported socialisation as how they first discovered their ability, and a number of mediums also reported socialisation as a contributing factor in the development of their ability. In other words, it seems that it was not until they went to a spiritualist church, joined an open circle or made contact with other mediums that they realised (or were told) they were a medium.