|
||||||||||||||
About the webmaster for the Spiritualist Religion Page Hi! I'm Joe Loffredo, and thank you for visiting my site! I have always had an interest in things spiritual. I remember growing up with the Catholic religion - we went to church on a regular basis, but we were not strict Catholics by any means. I missed the opportunity to make my confirmation (we had moved out of town for several months then came back) so I had to get religious instruction on a tutorial basis. Initially, I dreaded the idea, but Joanne was a good instructor and I learned a lot from her. At one point in our discussions I told her I was comfortable with my ideas about God and didn't feel the need to be confirmed. Joanne said that it was OK and I didn't have to get confirmed. She meant it genuinely, and for that I have great respect for her. Bless her wherever she may be today. We never had a Ouija board in our house, not because it was sacrilege - we just never bought one. My brother, sisters, and myself made one instead by taking a short drinking glass (made of glass) and turning it over, then making small squares of paper with the numbers and letters of the alphabet on them. We would put the squares of paper in a circle, then everyone would put their fingers on the overturned glass in the center of the circle. It worked well. We worked with the board every so-often, and always got positive results. I recall the first time my Grandfather in Spirit came through the Ouija board - he was quite surprised to run into us this way. I pursued psychology in college, and was exposed to Zen Buddhism through one of my college courses. I became fascinated and read books written by the Zen masters every chance I got. Much of my college time involved developing my belief system, thinking, trying out new ideas, and thinking some more. The opportunity came up to do a paper on meditation, which was helpful as well. While in college, there was a time when I didn't believe in God. I remember the shocked faces of the people around me. God was a person on a throne. I believed in the oneness of the universe, which was not a somebody on a throne. Therefore, I didn't believe in God. Several years later I found that I had made a major oversight in coming to my conclusion about God. I learned that I had never stopped believing in God, not at all. I misled myself into believing that there was only one way to define God, and either you believed in God or you didn't. In Zen terms, I had mistaken the finger pointing for the moon. Some years after college I went to a psychic for a reading, and regarding spiritual development, she told me that you can't learn it from a book, you need a teacher, and that Spirit "wasn't done with me yet". Valuable words. I went to Lily Dale on Memorial Day the next spring and was impressed by it's beauty and peace. Walking through the streets and nearby forest I could feel my spirit soak up the sunshine and the light breeze coming off the lake. It is a wonderful place. I began visiting the Dale every summer. Many of the readings and messages I received over the years indicated that I could likely become a medium as well. At one point I decided to look up the Spiritualist churches in my area and finally went to visit one because I wanted to learn more. About my first visit to church The church was small and very down-to-earth. The service was nice, and except for the message portion, not very different from the services of other religions. There is a dining room area in the basement where everyone goes after the service for coffee. I remember feeling uncomfortable because I didn't know anyone, but the people seemed pretty harmless - they just hung out. No one came to my table asking intrusive questions, demanding I convert, or anything else that would make a person uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. I went back several times over the next year (once or almost twice a month) and people seemed to be pretty much the same way as the first time I was there. On becoming a member of the church I went to the church Pastor at the time, Paul Spencer, and told him I wanted to become a member of the church. He asked "Are you a Spiritualist?" Startled, I replied that I didn't know as much as I would like to, but, yes, I am a Spiritualist. He said "welcome to the club then, you can join the rest of us!" and explained that everyone is learning, including himself. This is something I will always remember. Other people would have looked at the same conversation with disdain because they expect their leaders to know everything. But I have always preferred to get the real story instead of a trumped-up, fake version that just doesn't hold water. I was impressed to hear that the Pastor of the church would admit that he did not have all the answers. And an honest, unabashed admission at that. I knew that I was in the right place and this was the right religion for me. Here are some of the other-than-Spiritualism things that I like: Music
Important people in my life
|