Spiritualism has been a legal and recognised religion for some time. It is not so much a religion as a way of life. These are the seven principles or guidelines which most spiritualists agree on:

We see 'God' as an all encompassing divine source from which everything comes and eventually returns. Indeed we often pray to 'Mother/Father God' or 'Great Spirit' as we regard God as the divine source, rather than a single being. We consider that we are all part of God and that there is no 'death', only a transition from one stage of life to another.

There is no dogma within the spiritualist movement. Everyone is encouraged to follow their own learning pathway and by attending meetings regularly, members are able to learn from the variety of speakers and demonstrators who attend the services, as well as talking and listening to each other.

The brotherhood of man confirms that, as we are all part of the Divine source, we must all be brothers and sisters and should treat each other as equals.

At the heart of Spiritualist philosophy is the belief that the human form is only a vehicle for the soul or spirit. Spirit is pure thought energy and every living person is spirit within a material body.

Upon the death of the body, the spirit is freed and continues to exist, unseen and unheard to most people. Some people are naturally mediumistic and some are able to develop with training. We have learnt that our loved ones in spirit yearn to communicate with us to tell us they are fine.

As Spiritualists we believe that our actions cannot be absolved by any God or divine energy. We have free will to do as we decide and must take responsibility for our own actions. When we pass to the Spirit world, we have to atone for everything we have done here on the Earth plane. What each of us makes of our own lives is a result of our own actions. We cannot pass the blame to anyone or thing.

We also believe that when we return to spirit we are able to re-examine every aspect of our previous earth life and will eventually judge how we behaved, how we coped with life and how we were treated. We can then decide what lessons we need to learn. We believe that this will affect the way we are able to evolve in the spirit realms.

If we feel we have behaved badly we may decide to take on a particular task in spirit, such as comforting distressed souls who have just passed. Likewise if we have had a sad life, we are bound to find that life in spirit is full of joy and there are many wonderful people waiting to work with us.

Everyone who ever lived on the earth plane, no matter how they have behaved, can gradually progress in the realms of spirit. No-one is ever told how to think or behave, we learn and slowly change. God, or the divine spirit, is pure love, and there is no time in spirit - every human soul will eventually progress and evolve into pure spirit.