Having just returned from my fifth visit to The Arthur J Findlay College in Stansted, Essex, I felt compelled to extol the virtues of the place, particularly to those who are on the journey of self-discovery or enlightenment.

I first took a course at the College 3 years ago and was hooked from the first day. There are no spells, no rituals, certainly no brain washing. What there is about the place is a down to earth, lets get the job done and done properly mentality. Mediumship is discussed in a matter of fact way, various techniques to illicit information or evidence if you like, are taught to the more advanced students. To the students who are less experienced aspects of energy and colour are explored.

Of course there are Egos there, more within the wannabe student mediums than with the Tutors and sadly of course there is an element of Im going to be a medium because I can make a lot of money syndrome. We must remember though we are dealing with mere mortals here. Largely though, you will find camaraderie, long-term friends and helpful advice.

I have explored mediumship with a fabulous tutor, I shall not mention her name as I know her feelings on publicity, all I will say is that she holds the key to lots of practical, honest and intelligent information for tuning into the world of Spirit.

The day is jam packed from 9.30am to 9pm. On the courses I have attended, following breakfast at 8am there is a meditation session of 30 minutes at 9.30, and running straight on from this there will be a one hour lecture on a variety of topics. The week I have just been on for example saw discussions on symbology, altered states of consciousness and auras to name a few. After coffee at 11 is the first of four daily practical tutorials of 1 hours each, where you can be involved as much or as little as you choose. Lunch is at 1pm and at 2.30 you are into the second tutorial. The third follows coffee at 4pm and the final, more light-hearted tutorial is at 7.30pm, which has just about given you time to freshen up from dinner at 6pm.

By the time its all over at 9pm its as much as can be done to drag oneself to the bar for a relaxing nightcap. Of course there is still much discussion to be done at this point and the feeling is that it is a natural as any hobby or interest anyone may have.

Suffice to say that if you want an environment that is secluded without the feeling of isolation then the Arthur Findlay College in Stansted, Essex, is the place. On each occasion I have attended I have left feeling a sense of achievement and a fuller understanding of an extremely complex area and is still relatively untapped. The weeks are extremely competitively priced and the tuition is from very experienced mediums. It is not necessary to be a Spiritualist to attend this college, there are two optional services to attend, one Divine service on Sunday and one Public service on Wednesday.

To recap though, the tuition is second to none, you learn within an environment where you can mix with like-minded folk and totally focus yourself to the task in hand.