| Pictures of Lily Dale 2010 | |
 | I recently returned from a trip to Lily Dale, New York, the world’s largest Spiritualist Camp. In the second half of the 1800s, people traveled to rural Spiritualist camps to attend séances and message circles and escape the heat of the cities. Lily Dale was founded in 1879 and has been a site of mediumistic practice for 131 years. My first trip to Lily Dale was in the summer of 1977. Carl Hewitt rented a bus, and a large group of his students traveled approximately 10 hours to Lily Dale. Since I was new to Spiritualism then, it was a fascinating experience. |
 | One of my strongest impressions was attending a Message Service in the Auditorium. In those days, the Auditorium was showing its age. The stage had four or five chairs reserved for the mediums, who would be delivering Spirit messages. I remember being stunned at the beginning of the service as the mediums arrived: men dressed in suits and women in long evening gowns marched onto the stage. It was not their dress that surprised me, but their age. All of the mediums had to have been in the late 70’s and early 80’s. That trip also holds other fond memories, as I remember Carl meeting another medium named Rev. Emily Hewitt from Paterson, NJ. She had also brought a group of her students with her. The Rev. Hewitts decided to have both groups of students meet at midnight in the Forest Cathedral (literally a group of wooden benches in the middle of the woods). The Rev. Hewitts went into trance, and both their spirit Guides addressed us. It was a fantastic demonstration of trance mediumship and a most memorable night. |
 | My next visit to Lily Dale was in 1979. Carl had been invited to be the final speaker that year, the 100th anniversary of the camp. I remember him going into a trance state and delivering the most magnificent lecture I had ever heard him give. I remember Carl and I returning to Lily Dale at another time, but we were somewhat disappointed with our visit. There seemed little to hold our interest at the time. |
 | Now that I am developing my own mediumship, I often hear my teachers discuss the ebb and flow of energy during a Spirit communication session. I find that especially true when I give a message. As I begin, I can access just a small bit of information. However, once I discover who the message is for and as the conversation between myself and the sitter continues, there is a build-up in energy. The information begins to flow, with more and more details forthcoming. This ebb and flow is also present in Lilly Dale. Today, I am most impressed with the camp in its present state. Much has been done to update the main buildings, and much effort has been put into creating a vibrant program that provides workshops on many aspects of mediumship and psychic phenomena. |
 | I had the privilege of seeing Lisa Williams give Spirit Messages while at Lily Dale. Lisa Williams is a top-notch British medium who has had a TV show. While she did not train with the SNU (Spiritualist National Union) nor at the Arthur Findlay College, she works in the British style. This means she concentrates on bringing forth evidence that proves the identity of the Spirit communicator to the person receiving the message. She spoke about this fact, and while evidence is essential, she also conveys the personality of the Spirit communicator and any idiosyncrasy the Spirit may have possessed during their physical lifetime. |
 | What surprised me most, and which is not evident on her TV show, is Lisa’s bubbly personality. Her energy is infectious, and she draws you into what she is doing and saying. She is also extremely down to earth, and as I learned during the workshop I took with her on the following day, she is genuine, sincere, and impassioned about mediumship. My most valuable realization from this experience is that my perception of mediumship has been skewed all these years. As most of you know, Carl Hewitt was a superb medium. Part of his infectious appeal was his magnetic personality. As is taught to all student mediums, not only does one have to be able to communicate information from Spirit, but also one has to deliver that information in a way that will keep the audience’s attention. Therefore, the medium has to have some “showmanship.” Carl was an excellent showman; part of that was that he never seemed to doubt what he was saying. However, now I believe he just kept that to himself. |
 | I found it most interesting and relieving that Lisa Williams showed some “doubt” during her presentation. At times, she was not sure of the meaning of a symbol or was confused about what she was getting. This happens to me most frequently, and I assumed it was because of a lack of ability. Now, I realize that this is part of what every medium goes through when they become the intermediary between the physical and Spiritual worlds. I have recently been surprised to learn that many working mediums experience intense “stage fright” before giving messages. It is imperative for a medium to trust the Spirit World, and the more one can remove self-doubt and fear from one’s consciousness, the clearer one will be for the Spirit. Learning that there is a static line of communication between the two worlds is a fact of mediumship, regardless of one’s abilities or experience, was a valuable lesson I learned from Lisa Williams. |
