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Dalai Lama: Currently the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet. Worshipped and looked upon by most Tibetans as the true incarnation of the Godhead. Forced into exile in 1959 when China invaded.
Dark Matter: The substance that occupies the space between the atoms. Said by scientists and members of the scientific community generally, to explain various phenomena such as telepathy, physical phenomena and much that is unexplainable such as the creation, God and the vacuum of space.
Dead and Death: A term not used by Spiritualists because death implies cessation of all life and activity, whereas life is eternal.
Dead Sea Scrolls: Discovered in the Qumran region near the Dead Sea in 1947. One of the most important finds ever in Christo/Jewish archaeology. Written in Hebrew or Aramaic, the scrolls were found in caves by a shepherd. Older by a thousand years than the earliest Hebrew manuscript of the Old Testament, A.D. 895, the scroll consists of Biblical texts. There are numerous non-biblical writings and commentaries one of which is called “The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness”. The greater part of the works appear to be written before Christ and some after. Altogether, a period of some 200 years. There is no disputing the fact that they had a devastating impact when they were discovered. They have posed far more questions that they have answered. In his book, ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls And the Christian Myth’, John Allegro says that one of the most important questions concerns the relationship between the Essenes and the early Church. With the exception of the Book of Esther, the scrolls comprise of the whole of the Old Testament. The Essenes seem to be the owners of the scrolls. An account of the scrolls is given in Edmund Wilson’s ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls: 1947-1969’. (Also see Essenes).
Dead, The Book of: Ancient Egyptian papyrus writings designed to ward off worms, grave robbers and demons. Basically consisting of prayers.
Decalogue: Deca means ‘ten’. Decalogue is the 10 commandments.
Deify: To make divine and treat as a god or God.
De Javu: "Already seen". A number of theories persist to explain this phenomena of having seen or been in a situation before and experiencing it again first hand. Spiritualists refer to this phenomena as the spirit taken into the spirit realms in the dream state where you will rehearse events that are yet to take place. This accounts for that feeling of knowing what comes next though not always in time to bring about a change. Orthodox medical science considers it a condition of the mind where the brain sees or experiences an event but registers it only in the subconscious and then the conscious mind experiences it, then there is a feeling, a precognition. Many, many Spiritualists sight it as divine guidance and proof of being in the right place at the right time.
The Delphic Oracle: The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was Greece’s most famous. The Pythia, or priestess, would go deep into trance and would have Apollo speak through her. Her voice would change and she would often be seen to foam at the mouth. Generally regarded by historians the human desire of wanting to know the future. When busy, there would be as many as three pythias working. Open only to the rich and influential. Regarded, even in its day, as 'cryptic at best' by its critics.
Demon/Devil: As Spiritualists, we do not believe or have experience of demons. Good and bad people pass over. Demons are disciples of the devil - who have no real existence except in human consciousness and myth. It is the nature of evil that is in question here. Anthropological and Cultural History shows us that all societies have these figures. Thought to have had its origins in Zoroastrianism which took shape among the Jews during their sojourn in Babylon. Zoroastrianism (q.v.), a religion in which the struggle between good and evil reached its height in the imagination of the ancient world. A phrase I like is, 'Testers of man's relationship to God'.
Bosch's demon - one of my favourite illustrations!Devas: Plant spirits who may elect to help people. Also defined in terms of Hinduism/Buddhism as exalted spiritual beings/gods. From the sanskrit word meaning 'shining one'.
Development: Click Me! We take a 'gift', the gift the medium already has ~ medium being defined in this case as anyone who has a particular gift to be developed, and not always clairvoyance. To grow the gift, make it more elaborate, more advanced. To bring its expression into existence. More defined; more refined.
Dimension(s): Life on what we call the earthplane is comprised of four dimensions only ~ length, width, height and duration, i.e.; time. For instance, a cube has extension in three directions, length, width and height, but it also needs duration or time to exist. An instantaneous cube could have no real existence at all. Spiritualists, together with other philosophies, believe there are other dimensions. The fifth dimension has been described thus;
Direct Voice: Physical Phenomena. An ectoplasmic box is formed by the Spirit to re-create exactly the earthly voice of someone on the Other Side.Two drops of water falling from the sky towards the ocean. One says to the other,
"When we hit the ocean, we will cease to exist!" To which the other one replied,
"Wait a minute, we ARE the ocean!"Disciple: Participle of 'discipline'. Jesus' disciples were all natural mediums, healers, philosophers, speakers and demonstrators. They were not picked by chance. They each possessed a special gift which, through example, he himself demonstrated to them many times and which they later manifested in the early ministry following his crucifixion. The most remarkable book concerning such works for the enquiring Spiritualist would be Rev G. Maurice Elliott's, 'The Psychic Life Of Jesus', Psychic Press.
Discarnate [Spirit]: A spirit without a physical body.
Divination/Dowsing: Big subject. The art of foretelling the future, finding the lost and identifying the guilty by using a wide range of techniques involving the conscious or unconscious use of spirit beings. The art has existed throughout history and in all cultures. It is usually the responsibility of a priest, prophet, oracle, witch, shaman, witch doctor or other person with supernatural powers. Techniques fall into two main categories;
A/ The interpretation of signs, omens, portents and lots.
B/ Direct communication with the Spirit World through visions, trance, dreams and possession.Doctrine: Body of teachings of a religious or philosophical group. Principle or body of principles that is taught or advocated. Hence, doctrinal.
Dogma: Similar to doctrine but deemed by authority to be true.
Doorkeeper: A spiritual being who's task it is to protect you from unwanted spirit intrusions, i.e.; nasty or unwanted guests. Their success however very much depends upon a small number of pertinent factors. Factors like your awareness of them, your faith in them, and your knowledge and personal familiarity of them for you personally. Your door keeper is not necessarily your guide. Some persons report them as being family members but in the purest sense, doorkeepers are highly evolved spirit persons. It is essential to remember that it is YOU yourself who empower them. If you don't give them the remit to work for then they can do very little. A prerequisite of all unfolding mediums is that they [together with all those who sit in circle] know who their doorkeeper is. See Meditation
