My wife and I took part in the 'Special Workshop for the New Beginning of Cheon Il Guk Blessed Families' (New Beginning Workshop) at Morden in London, December 7-8, 2006. We were sort of looking forward to it but like the majority we didn't really know what is was about or what it was for.

I did however have 2 experiences during the 'New Beginning Workshop' that came to me very clearly and also very unexpectedly, now I must say at this stage, I don't want you to think that I'm saying this because I'm the new spiritual kid on the block, no I am just relaying what I felt, heard and 'saw'. I say 'say' as I want you to understand that I had my eyes closed and yet could see very clearly, very much like you see in your dreams but your eyes are shut, its that kind of seeing, still very detailed and real, none of this was imagined or wished or even considered to be hoped for.

We all have struggles when it comes to the Holy Song Sessions and I'm no exception, having had the session the day before I was perhaps a little more prepared for this session however it lasted twice as long and I like most of us felt pretty battered. However with the chanting and drumming I really began to get into the rhythm of the thing and as the drumming speed increased towards the very end I felt that I could concentrate better with my eyes closed.

Just moments before the final chanting as the drumming subsides I became very aware of three oriental ladies, one of which I strongly felt was a spirit of Dae Mon Nim, kneeling down at the head of my row and 'sweeping' with small brushes and hands what seemed like smallish piles of a sooty granular substance into boxes that were exactly like the size of the 'wish' paper boxes we had deposited our wishes in earlier, but without the slits and only stopping for a brief moment and then moving on to the next row and so on. I also heard them either talking quietly or chanting to themselves. I kept my eyes shut for a moment longer not wishing to dissipate the experience but nevertheless wanting to check that someone hadn't just brushed by us physically, I then looked around and literally no one was on their feet anywhere.

The overriding thought that would not leave me following this experience was the absolute imperative importance of being in rank and file as the 'collection' was being made all the more difficult because of the sloppy lines we sat in. This interestingly became a further focus and point I observed later in my second experience. This time again I had my eyes closed as we were singing 'Grace of the Holy Garden' with Dae Mon Nim on stage not so long after the Holy Song Session, as I had my eyes shut singing and really feeling the song deeply I could 'see' the whole back of the stage behind Dae Mon Nim simply melt away and I could very clearly see a vast swathe of Absolute Good Spirits all in gleaming white Holy robes.

The scene was like this, the area was absolutely flat and vast, the sky was a piercing blue and although it was bright there where no shadows cast by anyone or anything so it would seem there was no sun, yet it represented a faultless summer day, as we would know it. The ancestors were all in perfect rank and file with about one person's width all around them, so a great deal less crowded than we were! Also the plateau that they were on was set at about 4 or 5 feet below us, which gave us an elevated view as though we were on a platform.

They were all standing and singing along with us actually taking part with us, I think. They were stood on the most beautifully manicured soft green grass, very closely mowed; it rose quite suddenly to the turfed platform that we were stood on.

In the far distance to one side I could make out gently rising hills but without that haze that often accompanies distant views in summer, all the ancestors were facing Dae Mon Nim and singing along with us the same Holy Song with one very clear exception, when they came to the chorus

'Glorious the song ringing in my heart for my Father above'; they did this with their gloved and robed arms held high in a Eok-manse style, in fact it was so clear I really felt I wanted to join in but thought I would have looked a chump doing so 'oh dear, how reserved it is to be English'!

I just know I cannot sing that Holy Song now without seeing that brief but highly detailed moment in time, and dearly wanting to raise my hands during the chorus, I was also quite taken by the fact that their robe sleeves didn't slide up their arms, so that although the robes looked and behaved exactly like fabric they behaved in a perfected spiritual way rather than a physical clumsy way and again it struck me how strongly important it was to stand clearly in rank and file.

They were standing at about a distance of 50 yards or so and yet oddly were quite easy to see, again remembering that my eyes were closed for all this period, and this appeared and disappeared within the space of about 5-10 seconds. I hope you have enjoyed me relating my experiences of this special event and I am so glad not to have been negative beforehand, it is only later that the true value of this workshop becomes apparent and significant.

Terry Linden-Fermor,
Westcountry Region, U.K.,
360,000 Blessed Couples,
Special Workshop for the New Beginning of Cheon Il Guk Blessed Families
Dec. 2006