Arthur Findlay was a great philosopher, writer, psychic researcher, and a convinced Spiritualist. He devoted the second half of his life to the research and exploration of Spiritualism. Furthermore, he donated Stansted Hall to the Spiritualist Movement, to turn it into a College for the Advancement of Spiritualism and the Research of Psychic Science. Today Stansted Hall is a second home for thousands of people who learn about psychic development and mediumship.
The early beginnings
Arthur Findlay was born on the 16th of May in 1883 Scotland. Raised by a very strict catholic family life was not always easy. Arthur was curious about other religions and philosophies. Whenever he had early questions about life and death, they were soon eroded. His parents were scared of Arthurs’s curiosity and so they decided to burn all his books to bring him back on the right track of their belief.
This didn‘t stop the young Arthur Findlay’s interest in anything different from the closed-minded thinking of his parents. When Arthur Findlay was in his early twenties he started a career as a stockbroker and was very successful. However, his mind (soul) still longed to gain more wisdom about psychic science and find answers to philosophical questions.
In need of answers - the many deaths of WWI
In 1914 the First World War swept like a dark wave over the world. This flooded Europe with a great shock of death, desperation, grief, sorrow, and pain. During this time Arthur Findlay worked for the Red Cross and offered his residence „Stansted Hall“ in Essex (UK) for injured soldiers for recovery. The tragedies of the First World War brought Arthur Findlay back to his interest in spiritualism and the recurring questions about life and death.
The First World War brought over 20 million deaths leaving parents, partners, and children crying out for their loved ones. Questions, if they were dead or alive, were one of the main focus people wanted to find answers to. How would those left behind ever find peace? How can humanity live with such a horrible tragedy?
Meeting Jon Sloan - Direct Voice Medium
The powers of the universe supported Arthurs’s search for the truth. In 1919 Arthur Findlay met the Direct Voice Medium John C. Sloan in Scotland. This changed the Life of Arthur Findlay forever and was the starting point of a quest thousands of people would benefit from in the future.
John C. Sloan was a poor, not well-educated man who discovered that he was able to be a direct voice medium and bring messages from beyond. When Arthur Findlay first met Sloan he was rather skeptical and convinced that Sloan’s direct voice demonations were fake.
Arthur was convinced he could prove the fraud of Jon Sloan and started investigating him in private meetings. However, what followed was the development of a deep friendship between those two men and a contribution to humanity as proof that life does not end with physical death.
Jon Sloan was able to speak to those who already passed over and received messages from them. When Arthur Findlay realized that everything that Sloan said to the sitter was actually true, his interest sparked and he started to visit Sloan on a regular basis to investigate his abilities. A very strong friendship developed between John and Arthur and you will see proof of this in many of the books Arthur wrote.
The most famous book written by Arthur Findlay about his experiences with John Sloan is: “Where two worlds meet”
What is direct voice phenomena?
Direct Voice phenomena is a form of trance mediumship. A medium will enter into a deep trance state, which is an altered state of consciousness. In this state, the medium will surrender their physical senses and vocal cords to the spirit world and allow them to take over. This allows the spirit to express itself through the medium’s body, often speaking directly to those present.
When a spirit speaks through a medium during trance mediumship, it is known as a ‘direct voice’. The medium’s vocal cords are utilized by the spirit to communicate, often resulting in changes in tone, accent, or even language that are distinct from the medium’s own. This direct voice phenomenon can provide a compelling experience for participants, as they witness messages being conveyed in what is perceived to be the voice of the spirit itself.
Beyond vocal expression, trance mediumship can also involve physical gestures and mannerisms characteristic of the spirit communicating. For some people, this could be a rather interesting experience and often will shake up their view of reality. The medium may show behaviours or reveal knowledge that they could not have known on their own, suggesting the presence of an external consciousness operating through them.
Mediums who practice trance mediumship offer themselves as bridges between the physical and spiritual realms. They provide a service to those seeking a connection with spirits, often bringing through personalities and characteristics of the entities that can be recognised by loved ones or sitters in attendance.
Trance Mediumship - Channeling of other realms
Not all Trance Mediums are Direct Voice mediums and bring messages from passed-over loved ones. Furthermore, it is also possible to channel spirit guides, teachers, mentors, or healing from the other side. If you ever have taken part in a Trance Healing Session or witnessed a Trance Healing Demonstration you will see that there are many forms of how the spirit world makes itself heard or seen. All of those undertakings are there to show you that you are not alone. You can not die and you don’t need to be afraid.
Death is not the end - but a new beginning
Arthur Findlay finally found what he so desperately was looking for all his life. His new experiences stood in total opposition to his parent’s belief system. With years of research and first-hand experience, Arthur now was convinced that the soul can not die and death is just a transition to another dimension.
„Death, I am told, is as easy and as simple as going to sleep and then awakening. Our etheric body slips out of the physical body, carrying the mind with it, and we awake to our new surroundings to find our friends and relations ready to help and instruct us in our new life. Death is simply the severance of this etheric body or structure from the physical body. The physical body returns to earth, and the etheric body, controlled by the mind, continues to function in the etheric world which, though within and also without the physical, yet cannot be appreciated by us so long as we are inhabitants of the physical body. Our range of sight and touch is too confined for us to appreciate these finer vibrations.“ – J. Arthur Findlay ( On the edge of etheric)
The Foundation of Scottish Society of Psychical Research
In 1920 Arthur Findlay founded the Scottish Society for Psychical Research in Glasgow and many other researchers and scientists joined in. This is a separate Society and is not to be mixed up with the Society for Psychical Research in London, which was founded in 1882.
Well-known and educated men such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry Sidgwick, and Frederic William Henry Myers formed members of this society along with others and some of them were very definitely skeptical.
When Arthur Findlay turned 40 he gave up his job as a stockbroker and dedicated his life to the research of Spiritualism and Psychical Research. During those times he wrote a lot of books and the knowledge you can gain from them is outstanding. Arthur Findlay was a great philosopher and researcher who was always searching for the truth. His personal transformation from a well-known stockbroker to one of the most interesting philosophers about spiritualism and its phenomena is more than fascinating. Arthur Findlay is a great example, that only your personal experience can deliver you true understanding and knowledge.
His never-ending questioning mind and his restless search for the truth have opened a new dimension for everyone who is ready to look behind the curtain.
The awakening of my psychic senses
Similar to Arthur I also always had an inquisitive mind. Over time I also realised that I did hear and see more than other kids at my age and I was very scared to tell my parents. TIll one night I had a dream that was so vivid and intense that for days I could not go back to my normal life. Little did I know about psychic abilities or precognition but that night I had a dream about the Arthur Findlay College. I was born and raised in Germany and never did I ever revisit English before in this lifetime. But in this dream, the College was calling me to come home and it took me nearly 15 years and travels all around the world to finally find it. Over and over again I was called crazy for the insights that I had but I did not give up on my quest to find the truth. When I was 26 I finally found what I was looking for and a year later I started working at the Arthur FInaly College as a translator and have been ever since. This was over 14 years ago today. I have developed psychic, mediumship, and healing abilities. Just a few years ago I published my first book to share my knowledge and insights into the world of Psychic Development and Spiritualism with anyone interested in this field.
Unlocking Psychic Potential
Explore your own psychic abilities at the Arthur Findlay College
You can visit the Arthur Findlay College for Psychic Studies in Essex and spend a week there to learn more about mediumship, psychic art, trance mediumship, or spiritual healing.
Learn from world-class mediums and teachers such as Bill Thomson, Pauline Silver, Tony Stockwell, John Johnson, Sandie Baker, Jackie Wright, Allan Stuttle, Kitty Wood, Su Wood, and many more
Please check out the website of Arthur Findlay College for current courses they are running in psychic and mediumistic development. The College is now run and owned by the Spiritualist National Union.
I have been working at the college for over a decade as a translator. I am still learning like all the other students who visit here year after year. The community is amazing, the friendship goes far beyond just this lifetime and I could not imagine how my life would have looked like if I never followed my calling to discover my soul’s path.
On Spiritualism
- On The Edge Of The Etheric: Being An Investigation Of Psychic Phenomena, 1931, in which Findley examines the theory that spirits are linked to subatomic physics.
- The Way Of Life
- The Unfolding Universe or The Evolution of Man’s Conception of His Place in Nature, 1935
- The Psychic Stream, 1939
- Where Two Worlds Meet, 1951, is about Findley’s encounters with the medium John Sloan.
- Looking Back
On Other Religions
- The Rock Of Truth, 1933, a history of the persecution of mediums by Christianity
- The Curse of Ignorance Volumes I and II, 1947, the devastating effects of ignorance on the history of humanity, ignorance of our true nature as human beings, as well as what really leads to happiness and contentment; includes criticism of various economic systems and organized religion like Christianity
- The Effect Of Religion On History (Booklet)
- A History of Mankind Volumes I and II
Fiction
- The Torch Of Knowledge
