"Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence": investigating explanatory systems of spiritualist mental mediumship using interpretative phenomenological analysis
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 10 |
| Population | Spiritualist mediums |
| Key findings | The authors argue that mediums' accounts of mediumship cluster into three themes: explanatory systems of mediumship, spirit guides as either transcendental beings or aspects of self, and the purpose of mediumship. They contend these themes illuminate mediumistic experience in ways relevant to states of consciousness, transcendence, and the Higher Self. |
Abstract
Walsh and Vaughan (1993) defined transpersonal experiences as those “in which the sense of identity or self extends beyond (trans) the individual or personal to encompass wider aspects of humankind, life, psyche or cosmos” (p. 203). One population who regularly report such experiences are mediums. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten spiritualist mediums to explore their lived experience, such as how they communicate with the deceased, the meaning of spirit guide phenomena, and the role of mediumship, regardless of the actual ontology of mediumship. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) identified three themes: explanatory systems of mediumship, spirit guides as transcendental beings versus aspects of self, and the purpose of mediumship. These themes illuminated aspects of the mediumistic experience that have implications for an understanding of states of consciousness, transcendence, and the Higher Self.