For the past two years Jerry Thomas of Stillpoint Communications in Derry, New Hampshire has been our keynote speaker for our Psi Symposium summer conference at Ferry Beach Park Association in Saco, Maine. I convinced him that we needed to be able to publish an article by him for our members and general readers. Our lead article, "The Seven States of Consciousness" is taken from Jerry' s big book, "Body Of Time, Soul Of Eternity: Mystical Spirituality", which contains the detailed notes and outline for all of his slide talk presentations about mysticism and how it informs our understanding of who and what we as creatures of time and eternity. I hope you enjoy his provocative thoughts in print as much as did those of us who heard them in person given in a lively manner. Maybe you will discover the mystic in your own soul and find your way home to your Source.

The next five articles are a sampling of some excellent presentations that were given by guests or representatives of the Unitarian Society For Psychical Studies in Great Britian at their fall conferences and General Assembly gatherings. I had the pleasure of meeting Irene Hornby, Editor of the USPS Journal, when I was on sabbatical in England in 1992. My wife and I were guests at Irene' s home overlooking Lake Windemere in Ambelside. I spoke on dreams at the USPS General Assembly program in Bristol early in April and then on reincarnation a few weeks later at a special day conference in Lancaster. We have continued to exchange journals and newsletters with one another and grant permission to publish materials from one publication in the other. I think you will find the pieces by Roger Tarbuck, Robert Cresswell, Alan Sanderson, Frank Hytch, and Peggy Morgan especially gratifying to read and ponder. I know I did.

Humility and Faith

Metaphysical Memories and Milestones

Spirit Release

The Mysteries of Birth

The Soft Rustling of Existence in The Boundaries of the Spirit

The final piece, "Through The Light", by Mellen-Thomas Benedict, was brought to my attention by our Newsletter Editor, Jo-an Glasse, and is republished in our Journal with permission by the author. As it says in the introduction to his article, "Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half and during that time, he rose up out of his body and went into the Light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic Void of Nothingness behind the Big Bang. Concerning his near-death experience, Dr. Kenneth Ring has said, ‘His story is one of the most remarkable I have encountered in my extensive research on near-death experiences.' "

It could be said that this issue of the Psi Symposium Annual Journal is a metaphysical romp through the profound mysteries of birth, death, reincarnation, spirit releasment, near-death and mystical experiences, and the creative tension between science and religion, faith and doubt, and the discovery of spiritual truths to live by. Enjoy.

Richard M. Fewkes
Editor