Experiences and History
I, as a Spiritualist, have read books by Arthur Findlay and of course
my understanding was that this was the place to go for anyone wanting
more in the way of education with Spirit communication.
In November of 2005 I decided to look into the classes at Arthur Findlay College and found an extensive offering to choose from. Anything involving the realm of the unseen is available to interested students. Classes range from Mediumship, Healing, Trance Healing, Meditation, Native American Teachings, Mysticism and Prophecy, Color Readings, Angels and more. They have students and teachers from around the world, hence specific language weeks are available such as Spanish, Italian, or German Week where interpreters help with any language barrier.
In November of 2005 I decided to look into the classes at Arthur Findlay College and found an extensive offering to choose from. Anything involving the realm of the unseen is available to interested students. Classes range from Mediumship, Healing, Trance Healing, Meditation, Native American Teachings, Mysticism and Prophecy, Color Readings, Angels and more. They have students and teachers from around the world, hence specific language weeks are available such as Spanish, Italian, or German Week where interpreters help with any language barrier.
My Trip to Arthur Findlay College
Stansted, England - Summer 2006
Part 1 of 4
Part 1 of 4
It is a little pricy to get to England but well worth it. I decided
that since I was going to go that far I should go for two weeks. A
friend/student, Patti Craig accompanied me and our experiences were
unforgettable. The trip was so filled with joy and wonder; to share
our experiences with you I will need more than one article in the
National Spiritualist Summit.
We chose two classes, back to back weeks that interested both of us. Although I had been doing some trance for a few years now, I knew I needed and wanted more information and guidance in this area. I also wanted to study the "English" style of Mediumship. We were going in the summer and the prices are higher as far as travel is concerned. However, prices for a week at the college are very respectable. The price per course also included 3 meals a day and your room. The food was not fancy but delicious and plenty of it, especially the deserts, well, they were fancy.
To start off with we decided to fly directly to Stansted Airport, in England. The airport is about a 15-minute cab ride from Arthur Findlay College, Stansted Hall or "The Hall" as the locals know it. This eliminated flying to London and trying to get a train to Stansted Airport and then getting a cab to "The Hall". It was a little more expensive to travel on Maxjet Airline but well worth the extra money. Prices on all business flights on most airlines range from $600.00 to $3000.00, depending on the time of year you travel. Maxjet was on the lower end, leaves from JFK Airport in New York or Washington, DC and flies directly into Stansted Airport. The flight was very enjoyable and the food, gourmet. The seating was extremely comfortable and as soon as we got on the plane we knew spirit was with us as we could not stop laughing. Many little things were happening around us that reminded me of traveling with my aunts, whom I was extremely close to.
I told Patti that traveling with her was like traveling with my favorite aunts and the laughter was so contagious that those sitting around our area were also laughing. The gentleman behind us said in his very British accent, "It is nice to hear someone laughing on one of these trips; you have infected the whole plane by your joyousness, thank you". It was a wonderful complemented to start us off on our adventure.
As I said before, the plane was wonderful, very roomy, the service and the food excellent. We felt like queens. The seats opened so far we were almost lying down. Although we were completely comfortable and everyone around us was sound asleep after dinner, Patti and I were the only ones on the plane who could not sleep. We read and watched our private DVD with many movies to choose from yet; we still could not fall asleep. Out flight left at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday evening and we were told the duration of the flight would be 6 hours. With the time change and being in the summer, time was 5 hours earlier in England. We did not realize how awful we would feel by not getting any sleep. We arrived extremely tired, as our body clocks thought it was 4 in the morning.
We arrived in England at 9 a.m., their time, give or take a half hour. Going through customs was unusually quick and easy. We had our letter of invitation, as they called it, ready to show the customs official. In other words, we needed proof we were actually going to attend classes at Stansted Hall. This made it very easy for us to pass through customs.
We ordered a cab and waited the usual 45 minutes for it. We had already been told that the price would be 12 pounds to Stansted Hall, which transfers into about $23.00 U.S. currency. That's the way I figured if we were getting a deal on something or not. We took the amount of pounds and to transfer it into dollars we doubled it to figure how much we were spending in American dollars. Give or take a "pence" or two. We rode in the cab at ungodly speeds down a very tiny country road with cars zooming on the opposite side. We again had to laugh because we felt like we were in a cartoon fantasy. I knew of driveways wider than the streets we were on. The cars looked like children should be driving them, but they got us where we needed to go in one piece. The cab driver was very friendly and it seems almost everyone we spoke to had a great acceptance of Spiritualism as a way of life. Not all believe in "The Spirit" as they call it, mind you, but they were all accepting. I personally found this very refreshing. Many of the local villagers attend the weekly services held at Stansted Chapel.
I do not know what Patti expected but when we drove into the driveway she said, "Oh, it is old". Yes it is old; in reading the history I believe the original castles stood on the land owned by the Saxons and handed down to the Mountfitchet family where the original Hall was built around 1214. Some of the Barons, Dukes, Lords and Earls that spent their days in Stansted Hall were most noteworthy.
In 1825 the Hall fell into disrepair and was referred to as a "farmhouse". Stansted Hall at that time was owned by a Bertha (Ellis) Fuller-Maitland and inherited by her son William Fuller-Maitland, a traveler and collector. Needing a place to display his artifacts collected from around the world, he had "The Hall" rebuilt on its present site. Hence, the building of this hall in the 1870's was a modern country gentleman's residence. So yes, it is old!
In 1923 James Arthur Findlay, a descendant of ancient Kings of Scotland, as well as a friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, bought the property. Arthur and his wife fell in love with the property and local countryside. He was not a Spiritualist in the sense of the word as we know it, but he investigated the subject thoroughly and sat with mediums and in circles in order to write his books. He kept meticulous notes on what was communicated within these circles. There are, in the archives of the Spiritualist National Union (SNU), some of the original notes and pre-publications of his many books.
During the Second World War, Mr. and Mrs. Findlay loaned Stansted Hall to the Royal Army for use as a hospital. After the war Arthur took a keen interest in the local government and became a gentleman farmer. In 1964, after his wife died, Arthur Findlay gave Stansted Hall to the Spiritualists' National Union to provide a home for the Arthur Findlay College for the Advancement of Psychic Science, which is the full name of Stansted Hall today. The history is wonderful and "The Hall" holds many memories, (including some so called ghost stories), which were shared with us by the staff in our two weeks there.
We chose two classes, back to back weeks that interested both of us. Although I had been doing some trance for a few years now, I knew I needed and wanted more information and guidance in this area. I also wanted to study the "English" style of Mediumship. We were going in the summer and the prices are higher as far as travel is concerned. However, prices for a week at the college are very respectable. The price per course also included 3 meals a day and your room. The food was not fancy but delicious and plenty of it, especially the deserts, well, they were fancy.
To start off with we decided to fly directly to Stansted Airport, in England. The airport is about a 15-minute cab ride from Arthur Findlay College, Stansted Hall or "The Hall" as the locals know it. This eliminated flying to London and trying to get a train to Stansted Airport and then getting a cab to "The Hall". It was a little more expensive to travel on Maxjet Airline but well worth the extra money. Prices on all business flights on most airlines range from $600.00 to $3000.00, depending on the time of year you travel. Maxjet was on the lower end, leaves from JFK Airport in New York or Washington, DC and flies directly into Stansted Airport. The flight was very enjoyable and the food, gourmet. The seating was extremely comfortable and as soon as we got on the plane we knew spirit was with us as we could not stop laughing. Many little things were happening around us that reminded me of traveling with my aunts, whom I was extremely close to.
I told Patti that traveling with her was like traveling with my favorite aunts and the laughter was so contagious that those sitting around our area were also laughing. The gentleman behind us said in his very British accent, "It is nice to hear someone laughing on one of these trips; you have infected the whole plane by your joyousness, thank you". It was a wonderful complemented to start us off on our adventure.
As I said before, the plane was wonderful, very roomy, the service and the food excellent. We felt like queens. The seats opened so far we were almost lying down. Although we were completely comfortable and everyone around us was sound asleep after dinner, Patti and I were the only ones on the plane who could not sleep. We read and watched our private DVD with many movies to choose from yet; we still could not fall asleep. Out flight left at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday evening and we were told the duration of the flight would be 6 hours. With the time change and being in the summer, time was 5 hours earlier in England. We did not realize how awful we would feel by not getting any sleep. We arrived extremely tired, as our body clocks thought it was 4 in the morning.
We arrived in England at 9 a.m., their time, give or take a half hour. Going through customs was unusually quick and easy. We had our letter of invitation, as they called it, ready to show the customs official. In other words, we needed proof we were actually going to attend classes at Stansted Hall. This made it very easy for us to pass through customs.
We ordered a cab and waited the usual 45 minutes for it. We had already been told that the price would be 12 pounds to Stansted Hall, which transfers into about $23.00 U.S. currency. That's the way I figured if we were getting a deal on something or not. We took the amount of pounds and to transfer it into dollars we doubled it to figure how much we were spending in American dollars. Give or take a "pence" or two. We rode in the cab at ungodly speeds down a very tiny country road with cars zooming on the opposite side. We again had to laugh because we felt like we were in a cartoon fantasy. I knew of driveways wider than the streets we were on. The cars looked like children should be driving them, but they got us where we needed to go in one piece. The cab driver was very friendly and it seems almost everyone we spoke to had a great acceptance of Spiritualism as a way of life. Not all believe in "The Spirit" as they call it, mind you, but they were all accepting. I personally found this very refreshing. Many of the local villagers attend the weekly services held at Stansted Chapel.
I do not know what Patti expected but when we drove into the driveway she said, "Oh, it is old". Yes it is old; in reading the history I believe the original castles stood on the land owned by the Saxons and handed down to the Mountfitchet family where the original Hall was built around 1214. Some of the Barons, Dukes, Lords and Earls that spent their days in Stansted Hall were most noteworthy.
In 1825 the Hall fell into disrepair and was referred to as a "farmhouse". Stansted Hall at that time was owned by a Bertha (Ellis) Fuller-Maitland and inherited by her son William Fuller-Maitland, a traveler and collector. Needing a place to display his artifacts collected from around the world, he had "The Hall" rebuilt on its present site. Hence, the building of this hall in the 1870's was a modern country gentleman's residence. So yes, it is old!
In 1923 James Arthur Findlay, a descendant of ancient Kings of Scotland, as well as a friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, bought the property. Arthur and his wife fell in love with the property and local countryside. He was not a Spiritualist in the sense of the word as we know it, but he investigated the subject thoroughly and sat with mediums and in circles in order to write his books. He kept meticulous notes on what was communicated within these circles. There are, in the archives of the Spiritualist National Union (SNU), some of the original notes and pre-publications of his many books.
During the Second World War, Mr. and Mrs. Findlay loaned Stansted Hall to the Royal Army for use as a hospital. After the war Arthur took a keen interest in the local government and became a gentleman farmer. In 1964, after his wife died, Arthur Findlay gave Stansted Hall to the Spiritualists' National Union to provide a home for the Arthur Findlay College for the Advancement of Psychic Science, which is the full name of Stansted Hall today. The history is wonderful and "The Hall" holds many memories, (including some so called ghost stories), which were shared with us by the staff in our two weeks there.
This is called the "Main Entrance"
