Spiritual Groups

When you get together with others for a spiritual purpose, you can share your knowledge so that each can grow in their own way.

This section is designed to help you establish a new spiritually focused group, or to grow and develop a group that already exists.

To create a spiritual group, there are several core steps to consider:

  • What is your vision/reason for establishing your group, what do you want to achieve and who do you want to attract?
  • Do you want to set up a church or a spiritual centre or are you looking at something less formal such as a drop-in centre or weekly meditation and spiritual discussion group?

Do you want to have a formal structure for your organisation?

The structure of your organisation can make a difference to your credibility and accountability and may give you access to a wider range of grants, donations, contracts and loans.

There are many advantages to having a formal organisational structure, including:
  • Having a formal document such as a constitution, setting out what the group does and how it will do it
  • Access to a wider range of grants, donations, contracts and loans
  • Better credibility and accountability
  • The possibility of applying for charitable status, and so benefiting from exemptions from income tax, resident withholding tax and gift duty
  • Prevention of people being personally liable for the group’s debts

Do you want to have a constitution or rules setting out what the organisation does and how it will do it?

Writing your constitution or rules can seem like a daunting prospect. However, there is a lot of help on the internet as to what needs to be included and how the document needs to be worded. Whether you have a Constitution or a set of rules, will depend on how you are structuring your organisation.  

How do you do that?

How do you do that?

Each organisation will develop their own style of service. However, most contain the same basic elements and have similar needs for what happens before and after the service. Outlined below is some general information that may be useful if you want to review how you run your service or to set up a new service.

Timing and frequency

Most organisations hold their service on a Sunday. However, a spiritualist service can occur on any day or evening of the week. The timing and frequency of a service depends on the requirements of the organisation. Some centres or churches schedule weekly services, others hold them fortnightly or monthly. Some have morning services, others afternoon or evening services.

Length and content

Traditionally, services have been 60 minutes in length, structured around a 15 minute address and 25 minutes of clairvoyance with 20 minutes allowed for introductions, opening and closing prayers, songs or hymns, the reading and notices. However, in recent years some organisations have moved to include spiritual healing within the service. To accommodate the extra activity, they either extend the length of the service or ask mediums to give a shorter address.

Aim and atmosphere

The aim of the service is to impart spiritual philosophy by means of an address and proof of life after death by way of messages from those who have passed over. It is important that the energy of the service is uplifting and welcoming, that those who are attending feel relaxed and at home, and that there is an opportunity for attendees, particularly those new to this philosophy, to ask questions after the service.

Rosters

It is a good policy to set up a roster at least six months in advance that outlines who will be chairing your service, your mediums and your readers. People lead such busy lives that if they are not booked in, you may not be able to secure them at short notice. Many organisations also confirm that everyone is available a week before the service date. You may also choose to have a roster for your door person, supper duty and music person. Some organisations choose to leave some spaces for new mediums to step in during the year. As an organisation you can choose whether a medium can arrange swaps with other mediums if they are not available or whether it is done through someone on your committee.

Do you register with Charities Services or the Incorporated Societies?

Writing your constitution or rules can seem like a daunting prospect. However, there is a lot of help on the internet as to what needs to be included and how the document needs to be worded. Whether you have a Constitution or a set of rules, will depend on how you are structuring your organisation.  

How do you do that?

How do you do that?

Each organisation will develop their own style of service. However, most contain the same basic elements and have similar needs for what happens before and after the service. Outlined below is some general information that may be useful if you want to review how you run your service or to set up a new service.

Timing and frequency

Most organisations hold their service on a Sunday. However, a spiritualist service can occur on any day or evening of the week. The timing and frequency of a service depends on the requirements of the organisation. Some centres or churches schedule weekly services, others hold them fortnightly or monthly. Some have morning services, others afternoon or evening services.

Length and content

Traditionally, services have been 60 minutes in length, structured around a 15 minute address and 25 minutes of clairvoyance with 20 minutes allowed for introductions, opening and closing prayers, songs or hymns, the reading and notices. However, in recent years some organisations have moved to include spiritual healing within the service. To accommodate the extra activity, they either extend the length of the service or ask mediums to give a shorter address.

Aim and atmosphere

The aim of the service is to impart spiritual philosophy by means of an address and proof of life after death by way of messages from those who have passed over. It is important that the energy of the service is uplifting and welcoming, that those who are attending feel relaxed and at home, and that there is an opportunity for attendees, particularly those new to this philosophy, to ask questions after the service.

Rosters

It is a good policy to set up a roster at least six months in advance that outlines who will be chairing your service, your mediums and your readers. People lead such busy lives that if they are not booked in, you may not be able to secure them at short notice. Many organisations also confirm that everyone is available a week before the service date. You may also choose to have a roster for your door person, supper duty and music person. Some organisations choose to leave some spaces for new mediums to step in during the year. As an organisation you can choose whether a medium can arrange swaps with other mediums if they are not available or whether it is done through someone on your committee.

How can you run your organisation?

Once you have settled on a structure you need to consider the practicalities of how you run things behind the scenes so that your organisation can thrive. Each organisation will develop its own structure and practices, but we have provided some guidelines to get you started on your journey.

What does your committee do and what are it’s responsibilities?

An organisation is easier to run with a committee as you can share the responsibilities and jobs. You will also find it easier if you create an organisation email address that can be used solely for your organisation rather than using personal email addresses.

What roles will you have in your committee?

As your organisation grows, your committee will generally comprise of

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Committee members – usually between 3 and 7
  • If you are a church, your Minister may also be included on your committee

The responsibilities of the officers may be defined in your constitution and will be individual to each organisation. However, their usual responsibilities are:

President – responsible for the overall administration of the organisation, chairing the meetings and the AGM

Vice-President– steps into the Presidents role if the President is not available. May be given responsibility for a specific area such as fundraising

Secretary – responsible for taking minutes at all meetings, handling all inwards and outwards correspondence

Treasurer – responsible for all financial matters relating to the organisation

Many organisations will also have some sub-committees to organise areas such as workshops, fundraising etc. You may allocate an individual the responsibility for preparing the rosters for the various duties such as chairperson, medium, reader, responsibility for the music at services, a healing roster, someone to welcome people at the door, supper duties and a librarian if you have a library available.

What might your Committee responsibilities be?

One of the major roles of the committee is to ensure the safe running of the organisation. The committee has the responsibility of

  • Ensuring that all aspects of the organisation are running smoothly
  • Checking that the correct people are available for the various roles before, during and after the service
  • Ensuring that any health and safety procedures are followed
  • Replacing and repairing equipment
  • Keeping good membership records
  • Keeping good financial records
  • Talking to people who come to your services, making them feel welcome and aware of any extra workshops etc that are available
  • Being the support system for your Minister
How do you run your meetings?

Committee Meetings

These are held on a regular basis, generally monthly, and are used to keep committee members up-to-date with what is happening, and to make important decisions related to your organisation.

Minutes are taken by the secretary and circulated to the members shortly after the meeting to ensure that any jobs agreed on will happen.

There will generally be reports from anyone who has a particular role to play such as the Treasurer, the person in charge of healing etc and from any sub committees such as a workshop subcommittee.

These meetings are an important part of running the organisation as it gives everyone a chance to be involved in what is happening and, hopefully, put their hands up to do some of the work involved.

Annual General Meeting

This meeting is held once a year, generally within three months of the end of the organisation’s financial year. It is an opportunity for the committee to report back to the general membership what has been happening during the year and what is planned for the year to come.

Your constitution or rules will state what is the quorum for your AGM and how long beforehand you need to advise all financial members of the date and place for your AGM. Generally, only those who have been financial members for three months prior to the AGM can vote on any issues raised.

A typical agenda for an AGM would be

  • Opening Prayer
  • Apologies
  • Confirmation of previous years minutes
  • Matter arising from these minutes
  • Presidents report
  • Treasurers report, motion to reappoint the auditor/reviewer for the following year and to set the subscriptions for the following year
  • Appointment of officers and committee members for the new year
  • General Business
  • Closing Prayer
What are your financial requirements?

Your Treasurer is responsible for the day-to-day financial requirements of your organisation. No matter how small or large your organisation is, you must keep records of all money received and spent so that at the end of your financial year you have the information required to complete a set of accounts to show your members your financial position.

Setting up your Bank Account

When establishing your organisation’s bank account it is a good idea to have three people who can authorise your payments. Most organisations require two people for authorisations and this will give you some flexibility if one person is unavailable.

Many payments are done on-line via internet banking but only some banks are set up allow organisations requiring two authorisations to pay this way. Those that don’t, still require you to use cheques. If processing payments on-line is important to you (e.g. for convenience), then check it out with the bank first.

Once you have a bank account, you can apply to Inland Revenue Department to get an IRD number which you then need to advise back to your bank. If you have been accepted by the Charities Commission, you can then apply to be exempt from paying tax.

Small organisations

As a small organisation you may well choose to keep either a manual or computer-based spreadsheet that records your income and expenses. The income page of your spreadsheet would have columns for such things as

  • Date
  • The activity money was received from
  • Amount
  • Columns for each of your activities eg Collections, Donations, Workshops, Fund Raising etc.

At the end of each month you would tally your columns to ensure the Amounts column total was the same as the total of the Activities columns. Your Expenses page would be set out the same with columns for each expense eg Rent, Publicity, Purchases etc.

You would need to keep a copy of any paperwork that you have relating to your income and expenses as proof of the income and payments.

As your organisation grows

You will need to keep more substantial financial records, especially if you become registered with the Charities Commission. To help you with this we have completed a very detailed set of requirements which you can download here. (Link to PDF of Financial Requirements for Organisations and other documentation referred to in the PDF).

Do you need a complaints procedure and how do you write one?

It is important to have a procedure in place for any complaints that may be received. By having the process available, it allows the complaint to be dealt with in a timely and satisfactory manner.  Some organisations have a separate complaints procedure and some include it into their rules. There are also many examples of how to write a complaints procedure available on the internet.

You may consider basing your document around the following procedures:

  1. Listen to the complaint. Accept ownership of the problem. Apologise. Don’t blame others. Thank the person for bringing the problem to your attention.
  2. Be understanding. Remember, the person is complaining about your organisation, not about you personally. Be calm, cheerful and helpful. Where possible, let the person know that you will take the matter to your committee to resolve the problem.
  3. Record the complaint. Detail the complaint so that you and others know exactly what the problem is. Have one place to record complaints and the actions taken to resolve them. This lets you see any patterns that emerge over time. Complaints about a particular process might indicate that changes need to
    be made.
  4. Make sure you have all the facts. Check that you understand the details while the person is making the complaint and ask questions if necessary. This will also let them know that you are taking their complaint seriously.
  5. Discuss options for fixing the problem. At the very least, a sincere apology costs nothing.
  6. Keep your promises. Don’t promise things that you can’t deliver. In handling complaints, it is better to under-promise and over-deliver.
  7. Be quick. If complaints take too much time to resolve or are forgotten, they can escalate.
  8. Follow up. Check to see if the complainant is happy with how their complaint was handled. Let them know what you are doing to avoid the problem in the future.
Do you want to purchase public liability insurance?

 Public Liability Insurance, often referred to as General Liability, gives you peace of mind, protecting you and your organisation against specific claims by providing compensation for property damage, and personal injury or death in circumstances that are not covered by the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC).  

It covers a person, a business, an event, a contractor – even a community building – for costs from legal action if they are found liable for death or injury, loss or damage of property, or economic loss resulting from their negligence.  

Public Liability insurance can cover compensation claims made against you for injury or property damage to third parties such as your members or any other member of the public who comes into contact with your organisation.   

Spiritualism New Zealand has a special offer available from AON NZ for any organisation who wishes to purchase Public Liability insurance. This is the company who insure our board members and registered healers.  

To find out more and get a quote from AON, contact Joanne Griffiths at joanne.e.griffiths@aon.com, remembering to advise her that you are a member of Spiritualism New Zealand.  

Are you going to run Church Services?

Once you have settled on a structure you need to consider the practicalities of how you run things behind the scenes so that your organisation can thrive. Each organisation will develop its own structure and practices, but we have provided some guidelines to get you started on your journey.

How do you do that?

Each organisation will develop their own style of service. However, most contain the same basic elements and have similar needs for what happens before and after the service. Outlined below is some general information that may be useful if you want to review how you run your service or to set up a new service.

Timing and frequency

Most organisations hold their service on a Sunday. However, a spiritualist service can occur on any day or evening of the week. The timing and frequency of a service depends on the requirements of the organisation. Some centres or churches schedule weekly services, others hold them fortnightly or monthly. Some have morning services, others afternoon or evening services.

Length and content

Traditionally, services have been 60 minutes in length, structured around a 15 minute address and 25 minutes of clairvoyance with 20 minutes allowed for introductions, opening and closing prayers, songs or hymns, the reading and notices. However, in recent years some organisations have moved to include spiritual healing within the service. To accommodate the extra activity, they either extend the length of the service or ask mediums to give a shorter address.

Aim and atmosphere

The aim of the service is to impart spiritual philosophy by means of an address and proof of life after death by way of messages from those who have passed over. It is important that the energy of the service is uplifting and welcoming, that those who are attending feel relaxed and at home, and that there is an opportunity for attendees, particularly those new to this philosophy, to ask questions after the service.

Rosters

It is a good policy to set up a roster at least six months in advance that outlines who will be chairing your service, your mediums and your readers. People lead such busy lives that if they are not booked in, you may not be able to secure them at short notice. Many organisations also confirm that everyone is available a week before the service date. You may also choose to have a roster for your door person, supper duty and music person. Some organisations choose to leave some spaces for new mediums to step in during the year. As an organisation you can choose whether a medium can arrange swaps with other mediums if they are not available or whether it is done through someone on your committee.

What will you include in your service?

Welcome and introductions (chairperson)

  • The chairperson welcomes everyone and often includes a request for attendees to turn off their cell phones.
  • At this stage some organisations ask attendees to introduce themselves to those sitting beside them, in front of them and behind them. This is a good way for people to get to know each other. It can also help to raise the vibration of the service.
  • The chairperson also introduces all those who are helping with the service, eg the medium, reader, door person, the person in charge of the music and not forgetting themselves.
  • Many organisations also include advice for attendees to take on board what feels right and to just let go anything that does not fit. This is important as our philosophy enables everyone to hold their own beliefs and to change those beliefs at any time.
  • This element of the service helps to settle people down.

Opening prayer (usually given by the medium)

  • This is either channeled from spirit or from the person themselves.
  • It often starts with asking people to go into the healing silence for a few minutes for healing to be sent to all those in need.

Song

Reading (member of the congregation)

  • This is organised in advance to be given by a member of the congregation.
  • It is generally an appropriate short reading from a book.

Song

Address (medium)

  • This will either be channeled direct from spirit or will be the medium’s own words, depending on how they work.
  • The length of the address is generally between 10 and 20 minutes and will be uplifting, informative and given on a love vibration. This part of the service often focuses on an aspect of spiritual philosophy to help people understand how they can live their life in a spiritual manner.

Song

  • Many organisations use this time to collect a free will offering from those attending and, if this is the case, the song is usually sung sitting down.

Clairvoyance (medium)

  • In this part of the service the medium will ask to go to individual members of the congregation and give them messages from spirit.
  • The medium should always give the person they are going to the opportunity to say that they don’t wish to receive a message.
  • Messages are uplifting and do not include any personal information that could embarrass the person. If the medium is receiving that type of information, it is important that they ask to talk to the person privately afterwards.
  • The message will often include a description of the spirit and a short message that will help the person receiving it.
  • At the end of the clairvoyance, the chairperson thanks the medium and advises that the medium will be available after the service to talk with those who received messages.

Notices and closure (chairperson)

  • The chairperson reads out any notices (about the next service, upcoming events, membership subs, etc), thanks all those who helped with the service and also the congregation for attending, and invites everyone to stay for some light refreshments and discussion.
  • If healing is offered after the service, the chairperson explains that healing is available and how to access it.
  • The chairperson also invites the congregation to join hands in a circle for the closing prayer and song (although not every organization asks attendees to join in a circle). For examples of the closing song, click here.

Closing prayer (usually the medium)

  • This is either channeled from spirit or from the person themselves.

Closing song

  • Here are two examples that are used (link to songs)

After the service

  • By providing light refreshments at the end of your service, you give the medium the opportunity to talk further with anyone who received a message during the service.
  • It also provides an opportunity for members of your committee to circulate among those who have stayed, generally getting to know people and answering any questions that people may have.
  • Many organisations have their own library of spiritual books available for the congregation to browse through at the end of the service and make them available for financial members to borrow.
  • Some organisations offer spiritual healing after the service.

Spiritual healing may be provided during the service

  • This may include a healing meditation either by the medium or a member of the organisation.
  • Some organisations have their healers stand around the outside of the congregation, sharing healing while the meditation is happening or music is played.
  • Other organisations invite those wishing to receive healing to move to different chairs with the healers standing behind them and sharing the healing while the meditation is happening, or music is played.

Music

  • Some services don’t include any music.
  • For those that do, the music is generally pre-recorded either on to a memory stick or through a cellphone and books with the words are distributed amongst those attending – click here for examples of songs that can be used. (PDF with songs)
What are the roles and expectations of those involved?

What are the roles and expectations of those involved?

Chairperson’s role and responsibilities

The chairperson’s role is particularly important as they bring the service together and maintain momentum during the service.

Generally, it is the chairperson’s responsibility to:

  • Ensure the room is set up appropriately, including providing water and song books for themselves and the medium
  • Fill in the order of service (click here for an example)
  • Select songs and check that music is available (if your service includes songs and music)
  • Check that that the person rostered for the reading is present and has an appropriate reading with them (it can be helpful to have some readings available in case a last minute substitute is needed)
  • Check that healers are available
  • Welcome the medium when they arrive, talk through the order of service, and check that they are happy to talk with people after the service
  • Facilitate the smooth running and continuity of the service by adding in small comments, introducing the different elements and thanking everyone at the end
  • Ensure a thank you card, petrol voucher or anything else offered to visiting mediums is made available either before or after the service

Expectations of mediums

It is reasonable to have certain expectations of the mediums working at your service.

  • Arrive before the service starts, dressed appropriately, and tuned to work with spirit
  • Have an understanding of your order of service and your expectations of them
  • Talk with you before the service starts, if they are wanting to work differently from your usual procedure
  • Deliver clear, uplifting messages

What role does Spiritual Healing play?

Spiritual Healing may be the basis of your organisation or form a part of it.

Most organisations have a person who is responsible for training and looking after their healers and ensuring that safe practices are maintained at all times.

Spiritual Healing can be offered as part of any services that are held and in these cases the healing is often offered to the entire body of attendees. Individual healing can also be offered either before or after the service.

Many organisations also have session during the week where members of the public are offered individual spiritual healing either seated in a chair or lying on a massage bed. Generally, up to 4 healers will be giving healing if the recipient is on the bed.

More information regarding spiritual healing can be found as part of our website.

How can you train to become a Registered Spiritual Healer?

 

 How can you train to become a Registered Spiritual Healer?

Training to become a Registered Spiritual Healer can be generally obtained either through a Spiritualist Church or by means of a trainer with Spiritualism New Zealand.

Spiritualism New Zealand administers a two-year course for those wishing to become Registered Spiritual Healers. By becoming registered, and while you are involved in the training, you are automatically covered by our Public Liability Insurance and, on graduating, gain the recognition of being registered by a national organisation. Full information regarding this process is available on our spiritual healing page.

 

What is an Absent Healing Register?

An absent healing register is a book held by your organisation where anyone can add in the name of a person in need of spiritual healing.

There is often a column for more information about why the healing is needed and it is optional as to whether this column is completed. The book is placed in an accessible place at anytime that services or other activities are being held.

Absent healing is then sent to all those in the book individually by the spiritual healers within the organisation as part of their healing practice and those in the book will also be included in any healing sessions that are held by the organisation. Some organisations

What is an Absent Healing Register?

An absent healing register is a book held by your organisation where anyone can add in the name of a person in need of spiritual healing.

There is often a column for more information about why the healing is needed and it is optional as to whether this column is completed. The book is placed in an accessible place at anytime that services or other activities are being held.

Absent healing is then sent to all those in the book individually by the spiritual healers within the organisation as part of their healing practice and those in the book will also be included in any healing sessions that are held by the organisation. Some organisations

What other activities or services might your organisation or group may be interested in?

Once you have settled on a structure you need to consider the practicalities of how you run things behind the scenes so that your organisation can thrive. Each organisation will develop its own structure and practices, but we have provided some guidelines to get you started on your journey.

Discussion Groups

Discussion Groups

Discussion groups can be a useful tool as an introduction to spiritualism. They can be a relaxed session, generally about 2 hours in length, where people new to spiritualism or looking to gain more information before moving into a development circle, can not only gain knowledge on a variety of subjects but can also ask any questions that are puzzling them.

Each session can cover a single topic such as

  • What is Spiritualism?
  • Meditation
  • Spiritual healing
  • The history of modern spiritualism
  • What are guides and helpers
  • Different forms of clairvoyance
  • Ascension, what is it?
  • Changing energy vibrations
  • Seven Principles of Spiritualism
  • Circles

If part of the aim for running the development groups is to help people move into a development circle, you may choose to end the series with an open circle night.

The sessions may be run by one or two people or you may choose to have a variety of people involved, each talking on their particular topic of interest. Sessions need to be interactive so that people can ask questions as the topic develops. In this way, you will often find that a far deeper look at the particular topic happens as people express their interest.

Circles

Circles

Development circles are designed to help people connect with spirit and to learn to allow spirit to communicate through them to help both themselves and others. They generally have one leader who will run the circle on a weekly or fortnightly basis and each session is usually for 2 hours.

Circles are generally made up of three components:

This will be a lead meditation, either by the leader or a member of the group, with the purpose of  teaching focus and discipline as people learn to let go of their everyday thoughts and focus on staying within the confines of what they are being asked to do in the meditation

  • Helps in connecting with spirit entities that are there to help and guide each person
  • Gives access to spiritual knowledge

Exercises to help strengthen the connection with the spirit entities that are working with each person.

These exercises will lead to each person being able to channel their spirit entity or guide on a deeper level. Some people go on to be able to totally step aside and allow the guide to speak through them without interruption.

Exercises to allow the group members to be able to bring through messages from spirit for other people.

As they learn to do this, they will also learn to be able to identify who the message is coming from and be able to describe that person.

Circle leaders from around the country have provided us with some exercises which you may like to include in your circle. If you have some that you would like to share with us, please email Barbara at registrar@spiritualism.org.nz.

It is important to remember that each member of the group will develop in their own way and at their own pace and that they are always encouraged and reminded that it is their own personal journey and no comparisons are made between the individuals progress.

Meditation Groups

Meditation Groups

Meditation groups are for those who aren’t interested or ready to develop working actively with the spirit realm but who wish to bring some stillness into their lives.

Meditation can

  • Help to relieve stress and anxiety
  • Improve physical health
  • Help to reduce pain and fatigue
  • Increase energy levels
  • Promote spiritual growth
  • Improve concentration

Meditations are based around a lead meditation which may be spoken, played from such places as YouTube or the internet, where there is a wide variety of meditations available, or around a focus such as a candle or a plant or with music playing. Meditations can last from 10 minutes to as long as is required and generally start with a shorter time, allowing the participants to build up their ability to stay disciplined and focused within the meditation.  The meditation can also be based around a certain question or topic that answers are being looked for.

At the end of the meditation, each person is encouraged to talk about what they felt, heard, saw or experienced. Each will gain their knowledge in a different way and it is important to emphasise that each person’s method is perfect for them. Some people see very clear pictures while others never see anything, but each will gain the same benefits.

While the purpose of meditating is to switch the mind off and work from the heart, it is important to make those attending understand that everyday thoughts will still intrude, and these should be acknowledged and then let go and the focus brought back to the meditation. While the mind is not involved in the meditation, it is important to allow the imagination to be involved as this is the part of you that allows the knowledge to be brought through in whatever form is appropriate.

Workshops

Workshops are a valuable tool to spread knowledge about many different spiritual subjects as well as being a means of bringing some funding into your organisation.

They can be made to fit your subject and your availability so could be for 2 hours, 4 hours, full day, weekend or evening.

When planning your workshop, there are many steps to follow. However, they are not difficult to run and can be as simple or complex as you wish them to be.

1. Once you have decided on your topic, you may want to think about what sort of workshop you want to have.

  • Do you want to talk while others sit and listen?
  • Do you want it to be interactive where the participants can ask questions as you go along or at set intervals? Workshops often move off on a tangent depending on what questions are asked, therefore your presenter needs to have general spiritual knowledge . In saying that, if a question is asked that the presenter has no knowledge of and isn’t receiving any information from their spirit guides, then it is perfectly acceptable to say so and to either move on or ask if you can come back to the person at a later date with the information. This then gives you time to ask others or research the information.
  • Consider if you want to include exercises, meditations etc to give people the opportunity to learn by experience and have something to take away with them?

2. The next decision is how long do you want your workshop to be?

This may well depend on how much knowledge you want to share about your topic and whether it is going to be just talking or include other aspects.

3. Choose the length of your workshop

Or if it will be a series, and the venue, and price for attendees. You may run workshops via zoom of skype. Consider if you will provide handouts. Will there be refreshments.

4) Design your advertising for your workshop

This is usually in the form of an A4 flyer. Make sure that you make your flyer attractive and eye-catching and be sure to include the following information

  • What is your workshop about
  • Who the presenter is
  • Where it is being held
  • The date and start and finish time
  • The cost
  • How to book for the workshop
  • And details about meals if required

These flyers are versatile and can be placed in various places

  • On your organisations notice board
  • On local notice boards such as in community centres or libraries
  • In shop windows

If you convert your flyer to jpeg form, you can place it on suitable facebook pages

There are also some national based sites that are worth considering

  • Lightworkers of New Zealand
  • Mind Body Spirit Workshops
  • NZ Psychic and Spiritual Free Listings
  • Spiritual Events and Retreats

Once you have joined these sites, you can place your flyer on them.

5) When planning your workshop a connection with your spirit guides is useful

As you will find they will be with you on the day as well and so their input is very valuable.

When you are first starting running workshops, you will probably want to write out what you are going to say in some detail. This will change as you become more experienced until you will find you are basically working from bullet points.  As you are planning your workshop, think about the value of getting your participants involved on a regular basis. This could be in the form of

  • Brainstorming an idea and putting the ideas up on a whiteboard
  • Doing a meditation to let them share what they are absorbing with their guides and accepting the information at a deeper level
  • Doing some exercises that make them think about what it is that you are teaching and also give them something to take away and practise so that they can use the knowledge they are gaining in their everyday life.
  • Do you want to give them a handout at the end of the workshop with the basic information on it? If you decide to do this, tell them at the start so that they don’t have to take so many notes. It is also good practice to have pens and paper available for those who haven’t brought anything with them to write on.

6) You are now ready to run your workshop. Do so with enthusiasm, fun and joy.

Fundraising ideas

  • Raffles

  • Readings

    Public demonstration of clairvoyance (charging entrance fee), and/or have a few readers working at the church venue or at a stall at a fair (that can also be a good PR exercise, as you can give out pamphlets, etc.). If you have your own venue, you can’t lose on this one. If you have to pay rent or a stall fee, there is of course a slight risk, but usually, you will make money, as long as you don’t do it too often (there is a limit to how many readings people want).