Bad mediums & spiritualist churches

It is useful to openly discuss these issues. In the energy work & spiritual arena there are those who are totally bogus huck$ter$, as well as those who are highly ethical, have genuine ability & are who they claim to be. Allot are in between these 2 extremes in varying degrees.

Just as some who’ve had their first inkling about Oneness think they have completely ascended & are now all-knowing gurus who are here to enlighten the (supposedly) unawakened, many of whom know MUCH more than they do, there are mediums, psychics, & energy workers w/ good intentions who’ve misinterpreted their burgeoning abilities as seasoned abilities & have launched out into professional practice long before they should.

➦➦➦ It is very useful for those who are ethical legitimate mediums, psychics, & energy workers to provide information to help those who are seeking these services to know how to intelligently select a capable practitioner. Any suggestions or guidlines from experienced mediums, psychics, & energy workers would be very helpful.

Unfortunately today mediums and spiritualist churches
are not what they once were. I think maybe because
the older mediums of times past grew up in environments
that provided a serene atmosphere in that there were hardly
any distractions one might find today, like computers, cable tv,
iPods, videos, etc. So they were pretty much in tune with silence,
except for a moment or two with the nightly radio shows. And their
innate psychic senses became even more sensitive to subtle vibrations
all around others, that they were able to accurately pick them up and
give messages. Two the very best mediums I had seen were Clifford Bias
and Richard Ireland, both psychics, mediums, master teachers, and
ministers of their own spritualist churches, one in NYC, and the other in
Phoenix, Arizona. I had the priviledge of meeting so many good mediums
then. But these two were in my own opinion the very best in the early
twentieth century, along with Edgar Cayce who was from Virginia.

[stillwater29]

Originally Posted by Donna Mai

Haha! What I can say is that I'm not really a big fan of the "I have a grandmother figure here, maybe an uncle, with a name that begins with F or J but could also be an A. Any takers?" method.

nah i think that the true gift of mediumship in my opinion comes wit names etc, specifics etc obvs when your training you will falter as with anything in life, but in my view if your going to stand on a podium unless your stated as a trainee etc, you should be able to come up with specifics,flawlessly.

Originally Posted by Donna Mai

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but I'm just going to come right out and say it: I really loathe these cold-reading mediums (or “mediums”) who aren't channelling anything but their own egos – or at best, w$nking a weak link that they take a hint from and make up the rest.

(I apologise in advance for the length of this post. I'll give it a few headlines to break it up)

Spiritualist church
My partner and I went to a a number of spiritualist churches earlier this year, out of interest and curiousity. I was open-minded, ready to be wowed, etc. The first one we went to there were maybe a dozen people present, so the chance of actually getting a reading was pretty good. She did the rounds and came to pretty much everyone. It was all grandparents for an hour. Parents to one lady who was clearly in her 80s, so it was fairly safe to presume her parents were in spirit. The medium said, "I love grandparents, they're so cosy."

Indeed. Also, fairly unimpressive. To me it just seemed like she got something of a link, but didn’t work it. She managed to get maybe one or two things for each person, although she was hovering over them for about 5 minutes or more. And it was things that was so general that everything that was said could have easily meant something to both me and my partner. I call that cold reading. A cosy, nice, warm, chatty grandmother and a quiet, nodding grandfather who let her do the talking. Who can't relate to that, generally?

So, then she came to me. I tried to be as forthcoming and open as I could, although I was the 2nd to last reading of the night.
"There's a lady here, who you were very close to on the earth plane."
Oh yes, this was clearly the indication of another grandmother figure.
I said "OK".
"You used to be very close to her, and sit next to her on a stool as she was knitting, and you would have good conversations."
Again, I said "OK…" probably sounding a little less convinced.
"She's a lovely, warm character."
Again: "OK…"
She stopped and went, "Can you take any of this?"
I thought of being polite, but ended up saying, "Not really sure…"
She rounded off by saying I was overdue for a dental appointment, that the lady was sending her love and off she went to the last reading of the day, on the other side of the room, as far away from me as possible.

The crowd broke up pretty quickly after the last reading. The medium was out the door even quicker. I don’t think anyone was particularly convinced.

(Nevermind the circle at another spiritualist church that we attempted. Oh my God, it was like a scene out of a comedy book! But that's for another post...!)

Anyway, this wasn't the first time I've encountered a cr$p medium...

"Forget about him and move on"
Another example is a medium visited on a tour, and it was pretty much the same scenario as the one above. Few people, everyone got something. Me too. It went something like this:

- Is your mother still with us?
- Yes.
- Is your father still with us?
- No.
- Your father is with you, and he’s around your mother a lot. They were very close and she misses him a lot.
- OK…
- Your grandmother is in spirit?
- Yes.
- She’s a lovely woman, so warm and caring, she and your mother were very close, and they still are.
- OK…
- You yourself have always been one in the crowd, didn't stick out really, until recently when you've come out of your shell.
- Uhm…

I've never been a "sheep". Anyone who knows me will tell you that much. But even after this, which was a complete dud (will explain later why), I had already booked a reading with her. A one to one. Maybe she'd had a bad link that day, right?

The first thing she said when I walked into the private reading was, "Forget about him and move on!" I was a bit startled, and asked, "Forget about who, exactly?" She brushed me off and said I should know that. OK, fairly cryptic, then. She said I had "a lovely sister of mercy", "an Indian" and "an Asian" with me as guides. Great, I thought, all that's missing in that line-up is someone from Atlantis... I asked if I could ask questions, she said yes. So I did. She asked me questions back, fishing for information. When I wasn't satisfied with that, saying something like, "shouldn't you tell me?" she said, "You ask a lot about the past. Forget about that." A lot of forgetting to be done, clearly. Sometimes you want answers before moving on, but she was more interested in giving me future dates that would be "important" and to forget about people.

Afterwards, I was meeting with a friend who had had a reading with this medium the previous year. When I said what her intro had been, her jaw dropped. "WHAT!? That's what she told me too!!! I'd had a fight with my husband but didn't think it had been that bad!" When I asked which guides she had been getting, take a wild guess which three she'd got listed up as well. Another example of cr$p mediumship. Or rather, cold reading.

Why the readings were wrong
Both these medium clearly looked at my age and sussed out that a dead grandmother would be a good bet.

Most grandmothers might be these cuddly things with a great relationship with their grandchildren, but I can honestly say that the relationship between myself and my grandmother was - at best - strained. She didn't want anything to do with me, really. She didn't want to be alone with me because I was a kid, which made her uncomfortable. When I came to visit she would make sure I went out in the back yard and played there. Overlooked by her from the 4th floor. She and my mother had had the same relationship but worse. My mother felt she was living with a tyrant, a control freak and when she went there was no huge grief. They sure as hell wouldn't be hanging out now chatting away, as one of them suggested.

Besides, my mother and my father had been divorced for years when he died, they hadn't spoken for years because the last six years of his life had been rather… well, let's just say it turned him into someone else we didn't recognise. Sure, it was a feeling of loss for her then, but she was well over him – for reasons I won't get into here.

To round off - finally ;)
There are many good, honest mediums out there. Even bad mediums with good intentions. I have to admit, very few make my jaw drop. I've met a few that have blown me away, but being a working medium should have some sort of minimum requirements, really. I've seen mediums encouraging people to commit suicide because they can't cope with the world, and then blame spirit for making them say it. Honestly, some things just aren't on.

Would like to hear other people's experiences with this stuff...?

EEKS! I've never been to a spiritualist church but if I ever encountered anything like you had above, it is NO WONDER people don't trust mediums. That was horrendous!!

Fishing... more like trolling!! I can say I have NEVER done that, nor will I EVER in my life. If I don't get anything, I sure as HECK never fake it! I'm honest and say, "Sorry, I am not picking up for you right now." Money returned.

Sorry you had such bad events :(

Originally Posted by mattie

➦➦➦ It is very useful for those who are ethical legitimate mediums, psychics, & energy workers to provide information to help those who are seeking these services to know how to intelligently select a capable practitioner. Any suggestions or guidlines from experienced mediums, psychics, & energy workers would be very helpful.

First - trust your gut! If you feel weird or uneasy with a medium or psychic, don't pay, excuse yourself and walk. Even if it's online, just end the connection.

Second - Do not feed the reader. I have a habit of doing this myself! (lol!!) Do not say things like, "Oh that must be David or Uncle Joe." You should only have to say "Yes" "No" or "Not sure" to a medium/psychic.

Third - it is extremely normal to have "psychic amnesia" when you go to a reader. There will be people you may not know or even remember in life that come through. I usually tell a client to "check on it" and email me back. Many times after speaking to a relative, they will email me back stating that it was indeed so and so.

Fourth - Write down questions you want to ask before hand. Have them on a paper. Most psychics/mediums will ask "Do you have questions?" This is where you can read them off in case your nerves give you memory loss. :)

Fifth - Don't take information that you are unsure of. Not many mediums can get full names like George Deargio born in 1942, had a right hip replaced in 1980, etc. We get information as it is given. Sometimes we may only get a G or J sound, not the full name. DON"T give the name to the medium. If they say I sense a J or G sounding name, male. Say "Yes, I can take that." But if you DON'T know anyone with that name. Don't be shy and say "No, not at this time, I don't recall that name."

I have had people come through unrelated to my client. So realize and think of neighbors or such that you might know with people that would fit the descriptions.

Sixth - A good medium will offer you your money back or a portion of it if the reading is null or they cannot connect. I offer full, because my reputation is more valuable than money. If they are good and forthright, they will too.


That's all I can think of at the moment. Hope it helps! :)

Thanks for your responses, Laura! What you say about guidelines rings very true :)

On the subject of bad/disconnected mediums, I've seen so many mediums on podiums, fishing for information, spewing out generalisations that can fit anyone - and watching people wanting to be convinced and trying their hardest to make it fit. I like mediums who come out with hard facts, enough to make you think "oh f!ck, I haven't told anyone that" etc.

For instance, I saw Lisa Williams live once, and she had a mother there, talking to her three daughters in the audience. The one thing that made the crowd go "bloody hell" was when she said: "So, which one of you is going to give her a grandchild next year?" They looked at each other and all of them protested and were sure it wasn't any of them. Then the middle one looked down and said meekly, "...maybe me... I found out yesterday and I haven't told anyone."

I've also had personal things said that have made my skin crawl (in a good way) when I've met really talented mediums. I love that feeling of, well, proof.

I agree. There are times I get info for a client that can shock the **** out of me as well as them. Typically I am just as surprised that the info just pops into my head. (no ego!)

A lot of mediums put themselves on this pedestal. Thinking they are super, amazing, etc. I cannot do that because it's not me that is the key. It's spirit. All my credit continually goes to my guides and source, as well as spirit families. Without them, I can't do jack! :)

Those don't sound like mediums to me, those sound like those phony money grubbing "Fortune teller" types.

My experience with a real psychic/medium, she would hold a piece of my jewelry that I've been wearing,and/or look at pictures. Usually when someone comes through they talk about memories involving you, they'll describe themselves physically,show objects or pictures,bring up songs/etc. Sometimes the medium will have to look at pictures or sometimes the person is already pushing their way in.
Granted, every medium tunes in differently, but almost every spirit does the same thing with trying to identify themselves so that you know it is definitely them. I've heard the same things from friends that saw real mediums as well.
Pretty sad that people are out there trying to make an unfair buck off of peoples losses.
I myself am trying to open myself more to that side, and my biggest issue is that I hope to help people but have zero interest in it as any sort of career, as I already have other non related things in mind that I am moving towards for money/career.

I think that phonies like that are lazy and trying to be clever at suckering people out of money. For shame!

I've encountered mediums who are so full of themselves there's no space for anything but their egos. One I got in touch with gave me a long lecture on how my way of doing things wasn't as good as hers, and then went into another rant that made it clear she had no idea what the difference between trance and transfiguration was... (I was exploring trance at the time)(wasn't for me, but still).

There should be some kind of control over who does this in public, really. For healers, at least here, you need to do it properly or risk getting sued. In the UK you have to have a clausule saying it's "for entertainment purposes only" to not risk getting sued - which is also bollocks.

Hmm..

My friend is the same way. "Don't thank me, thank my guides!" But I think that they need you to work just as much as you need them :) Nothing wrong with giving yourself a pat on the back here and there. Real mediums do things for people that years of therapy can't even fix. What people like you and your guides do together is awesome!

Originally Posted by Medium_Laura

I agree. There are times I get info for a client that can shock the **** out of me as well as them. Typically I am just as surprised that the info just pops into my head. (no ego!)

A lot of mediums put themselves on this pedestal. Thinking they are super, amazing, etc. I cannot do that because it's not me that is the key. It's spirit. All my credit continually goes to my guides and source, as well as spirit families. Without them, I can't do jack! :)