Let me introduce myself to you all
My name is John and I am the Administrator of this Charity, doing this job in Cornwall, UK, for the last 30 years.
I come from a middle class background, and my first academic love was Maths & Physics, closely followed by Biology, Geography and Chemistry – the Sciences. Although I was brought up as a Christian I did not really embrace the Faith until my teens, and was not ordained until the middle 1970’s.
I am also a psychic, so let me explain.
I inherited psychic sensitivity from both sides of my family although my Celtic blood runs more strongly on my mother’s side. Neither of my parents really used their respective abilities which meant that I had to work things out for myself. In fact both parents fought shy of the whole subject, like so many of that generation did. From a very early age I saw things and experienced things of a psychic nature and, like most others who experience such things, quickly learnt to keep all of these to myself, fearing ridicule and misunderstanding from those around me. My family had always attended the local church and I joined in first as a choirboy and then as a church server. Naively, I expected someone in authority in the church to have been able to throw some light on the subject, but I received no help from that quarter, even getting a reputation as a rather strange individual through my questing! It was not until half way through teenage years, when I had a summer job working for a Spiritualist on the town promenade that I discovered there were other people out there who not only had the kind of experiences I had but made real use of them as well. There was a whole world of understanding to be gained. It was a tremendous revelation and help.
Do you remember the ‘Mods and Rockers’ of the 1960’s in the UK? I was a Mod, the ones with the Vespa Scooters! There was no time to be bothered with religion, and psychic sensitivity only meant police speed traps could be sensed and avoided. However, it was when I was persuaded to attend a Christian Evangelical Billy Graham rally that the troubles really began. A conversion experience shook me to the core and I offered my life back to God. That did not solve anything as far as psychic matters went. It only made things worse, for there was much talk of psychic phenomena being of the Devil. My new found faith was only a source of great heartache as my prayers went unanswered when I prayed for my sensitivity to be taken away from me. It was not until I realised that my intuition and inner promptings had been used within an emerging new ministry, time and time again, that I accepted my gifts as a window into the spiritual world. I was not the right hand man of Satan at all, but privileged to see things like no normal ordinary practicing Christian could. It was another thing to share all this with Christian brethren though. That only invited persecution way and above my previous experience of early teens.
The loving church could be extremely unloving to one of their own, if such a one voiced a dissident line.
In the early 1970’s I was led by my inner voice to travel with another friend behind the Iron Curtain for three months smuggling bibles, other Christian literature and needy bits and pieces to the Persecuted Church of those lands in those times. I had never come across such poverty, pain, hardship nor such direct application of the Christian teachings. Those months in various countries were a wonder of spiritual understanding and learning to live by Faith. It was a hot house of an education and had as profound effect upon my life as my conversion had been.
Safely back in England, I believed my career in mathematics and physics should be put on hold as my vocation to the Church was tested. During this time I trained as a teacher, then trained and worked as a male psychiatric nurse. However, within a few years I won a place at a Cambridge theological college and was subsequently ordained in the Church of England. I also studied pastoral psychology and sociology, took part in group dynamics and trained as a counsellor. I have been involved in adverse spirituality and psychic situations ever since.
All this time my sensitivity and interest in psychic matters had never left me and, as part of my post ordination continuing training and having the ears of erudite clerics at hand, I put my thoughts together in my first book “In Defence…”, as an ‘apology’ for the Christian psychic. I also began to explore my abilities in a far more conscientious manner, regularly speaking with spirit beings. As a consequence my psychic muscles developed and my ministry changed direction. There were Church people who helped, but they were very much in the minority, people like Cannon J Stafford Wright who was the Vice Principal of Tyndale Theological College at the time, the Reverend Dr Martin Israel who was President of the Churches Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies, and Dom Robert Pettitpierre, a very well respected monk of Nashdom Abbey in this specialist area of pastoral care. I believe that psychic abilities are a wondrous part to life and a very real help in understanding spiritual ethics and realms. Unfortunately, I also believe they are most alluring traps for the spiritually unwary. My greatest regret is that the Church is more inclined to speak upon matters social and political than it is upon matters psychic and spiritual. I believe that there is a dearth of real understanding and an irrational fear of the unknown about such things. Political Correctness is nothing compared to Religious Correctness, but who is the authority on such things unless it is the Church? Sadly, if not tragically, that is being left for those who speak loudest, usually outside the more orthodox Christian expression.
I have two mature sons by a first marriage, having divorced in the 1980’s. I remarried in the early 1990’s and now also have a stepdaughter. All of that story is part of my first hand experience of how you cannot separate emotional needs, the cosmic battle between Light & Darkness, an individual’s growing pains and a journey of survival in the modern world. Now is not the time and place to tell it.
Until a partial deafness grew troublesome, I was a part time lecturer for Exeter University Extra Mural Studies – now Life Long Learning department – teaching counselling, and in the early 1990’s I remarried and decided not to renew my Licence to Officiate for the next 20 years. I have recently sought to remedy that and the diocese has once again Licenced me to Officiate, although I only take the occasional service – by request. So as my training and interests stem from mathematics, physics, psychiatric nursing, group dynamics, counselling, theology and spirituality, I believe I am especially qualified to be the Administrator of this Charity. I have now written seven books, which are available through most booksellers or on line through Amazon.
See just how all of these disciplines combine their viewpoints to throw light on each other and the wonderful and mystical world in which we live. Hopefully the website will be of some help, opening up new ideas for some of you, feeding others of you with continuing or developing concepts or stretching everyone in some way or other. Most of the material is free but we include appeals for donations in particular areas of concern as well as access to specific lines of enquiry.
Blessings
John