Recognizing the Truth in Spiritualism
By Caroline Groeneveld

Do you sometimes have the feeling that something is not completely right? You may have heard very beautiful and awe inspiring stories about how the world should be running, how people should be treating each other, and still there is something not quite right with the message. Is it the message itself or the messenger who does not have everything in order? How would one recognize whether this beautiful message is indeed inspired by a pure source or not? An old Cajun saying tells us: Those who know, know that they know; those who don't, do not know that they don't. In this story you will find some examples of knowing and not knowing. Judge for yourself with your own consciousness!

The first time I got in touch with pseudo spiritualism I really felt for it because it seemed so absolutely beautiful! My eyes were bright and my aura was shining. I was chosen, of course, or so I was told. I had built up an international email contact with an American lady. She was a smooth talker and told an excellent story about the Light and that Love. She was able to say things to me in such a general way about my life that really seemed as though she truly knew me. She was giving me her advice about my life in such a way that I, as a person, was completely recognized. She told me that it did not matter which choices I would make in life. I was good the way I was.

Once she had built up my confidence in her as well as my ego, she told me that she wanted to reveal a secret to me. Before she would tell me, I had to promise that I would not tell anyone. After I agreed, she sent me an email that was hundreds of pages long. In it she explained that, in actuality, she was the reincarnation of the twin soul of Christ. She was chosen to save mankind. She was going to accomplish this task with her soul and the soul of Stephen Spielberg (yes, that one), who was Jesus himself, making them both the saving Messiahs of the Earth.

She had stalked Stephen for years already, but he did not give in. So she kept on stalking him, because she also knew that one of her tasks was to wake Stephen up to make him realize that he was Jesus Christ. At the end of her "manifesto" she confessed to me that at the present time she had to be less direct because, for now, she had a restraining order against her. But, she claimed, she kept sending him messages as a real Fighter on the Path!

I was astonished, and did not know what to do with this information. And that's exactly what I wrote to her. Honesty first, no? Her messages started to get more threatening. According to her, I was chosen to be her disciple and had to follow her, otherwise hell and damnation awaited me. I was scared. My true resolve was that nobody tells me who my Master is. One who is screaming to be wise is screaming alone in the desert. In great clarity within my mind I saw my own Inner Master, and he revealed his message to me: Not the messenger but the message itself stands for the quality of its contents. It should not matter who is saying it, it has to be clear from all names, that is what counts, in reality.

And with this, the next question was born immediately. How does it work then with channelling? After all, it is a hot trend nowadays. One book after the other is published; people believe the messages when they contain a famous name. How could this possibly be wrong? This logic failed to live up to the first test from my Inner Master.

I was very afraid when I got the chance to meet a real channel. One "Michael" message after the other was received and, despite the fact that the channel became desperately unhappy, lost a lot of weight, and was a complete financial disaster (Michael literally sent her into the woods but also left her there), she kept on pondering this path because Michael had told her so. She was absolutely convinced that these stories were real. She too, was chosen. Eager as I have always been, this story also invited me towards a deep inner quest. I am convinced that somewhere within me there exists a tremendous hidden encyclopaedia, which will unfold automatically at the moment I am able to surrender to silence. What was happening with this "Michael?" Wasn't he the archangel of unconditional love? His unconditional love did not show from the messages this lady received. Could it be that somebody else was answering the cosmic telephone line? Where could I find more information about "Michael?"

The Concordantia brought the answer. This is a kind of dictionary of the bible, in which one can search by name or by phrase for verses containing the name or phrase. The term Archangel was not in the book but Michael was. In the Old Testament, Michael was known as the master of evil who was to destroy anyone who worshipped the pagan philosophy to protect the "good." This brought more understanding to me. The Christian religion teaches denial of a God within. God is a creature outside of you, while in paganism or nature religion, there is a basis that there is a God aspect within. Aha! Perhaps this lady was in touch with the earthly aspect of Michael, the aspect that reveals power and oppression. How nice it is to be allowed to see this!

Any energy has, in my mind, two polarities; a cosmic inspired one and an earthly inspired one. One is not better than the other as they are just additional polarities, which, when acting together, can provide the perfect balance. Michael is not only unconditional love he also represents power and oppression. Actually, this is logical too, when one thinks about it, because if one only gives unconditional love to anybody and anything, without striking a balance, other people will literally walk all over you and you will experience oppression, much like this lady did.

Because of this experience I realized that the true art of life, or the true act of spirituality, can only be awakened when one takes responsibility for one's own life. Always accept responsibility for yourself without placing blame on another person or thing. Do not even "blame" creatures like Michael, because doing so acts as if one is looking outside of oneself for the message. In principle, it does not matter to whom you listen, whether it is the president, your boss, the neighbour or an "angel"; you are still not listening to your own heart. To know your own angel, or your own Master who is hidden deep inside of you, you must first know yourself. Then you will know God and the Universe.

What then becomes of "Spiritual Land?" How can you judge for yourself if a leader is pure of heart or not? How are you able to discern if the message you are receiving is coming from your heart, or if it is "ego-coated"? For me, the answer lies in how the message is presented. I am able to tell by the actions rather than the words. I look to see if the real truth is left for examination or if is it hidden from sight. Is the message filled with celebrity names or other enticing and superficial slogans? Finally, is the message and the messenger modest? These are ways to help me to be able to discern.

How then should we deal with all of these pseudo leaders? Try to have compassion. After all, this is the best that they can do. In the 50s, for example, it was very common to hit students at school when they were misbehaving. Nowadays we would consider this to be a form of child abuse. At the time, however, this was considered normal and correct. The fact that these teachers behaved badly themselves by hitting students does not mean that we should dismiss the good work that they did do. Try to appreciate them, because bad teachers, in my opinion, are better then no teachers at all. There is always something to be learned, as long as we scrutinize the teachings. It is better to look for the opportunity to learn rather than not learn because we may have a bad teacher cross our path.

Endnote: I do not pretend to be the almighty; in fact I am far from that. I see myself more as a joyful beginner on the path. Full of laughs, jokes and on a path with a lot of angels, because holy are they who do not know! If you would like to give a response to my vision please do so. Because the more facets of the inner diamond are enlightened, the more shining our shared Stone of the Wise will become! Email me.

Carolina is Dutch and works for Spiegelbeeld, a spiritual magazine published in Holland. Leaving a successful career in sales, she traveled the world, met a lot of people, experienced many different cultures, but did not know how to combine her adventures into a fulfilling life. She did know that she wanted to write. The diaries she kept could fill a library, yet she knew that the time was not right, the story to be told was not there yet. Now, the time has come for her to speak her truth; this article is the first one published from her heart. Carolina tells us that she has a lot more to say.