How to Choose a Good Psychic or Medium

Channelling is not a new age phenomenon. It has been recorded in every culture, religion and age known to man. People channel thoughts, feelings, intuitions and ideas. Have you ever known who was on the phone before you answered it? Before the time of caller display!

We all do it all the time to some extent, some people would call it intuition, others tapping into the collective unconsciousness and yet others go deeper into trance or meditation. It is available to us all and we can choose how consciously we want to do it. However, I believe that there are some people who have a special gift.

People who call themselves mediums or psychics channel messages, images, sounds, smells and people. They know things they couldn't possibly know and see beyond the physical. Some people grow up not realising that they experience things that other people don't. I have a friend who is clairaudient. She will sometimes make a passing comment about the terrible noise that the rocks are making! People who are not receptive to these things might see this as a sign of madness in our day and age, but in the middle ages would have been seen as evil, heretic or demonic. It would have been punishable by death and it was. They were called witches and were burned alive like the Cathars.

Today, some psychics and mediums enjoy celebrity status or are even employed by governments. In the Uk, Sasha Fenton and Russell Grant are internationally acclaimed astrologers. Rupert Sheldrake of Cambridge University has written a number of books about extra sensory perception and the evolution of mind. Zak Martin is well known around the world for his psychic powers and predictions and Sally Morgan stars on ITV.

Last year, Paul and Deborah Rees, who are both self-styled mediums, were awarded the cash under the Government's Want2Work job creation scheme. The Welsh couple used the money to teach people how to contact friends and relatives "on the other side". Helping people connect to others on the other side and giving people proof of the next life is a big part of what mediums do.

Even the espionage branch of the United States government has used "remote viewing" to identify distant objects and future events. Of course, there are still many people who are not even open to the possibility of such skills and powers, others who fear them or just don't understand.

Fear and lack of understanding emotions that underpin events like the French Inquisition. However, even as the Cathars were burned at Montesgur, they were teaching love, compassion, forgiveness and understanding. They practised a form of deep meditation. The Last Cathar, by Simon Tomarz illustrates this beautifully in a gruesome but very moving scene as he describes the fate of the 225 cathars who were burned. Every Cathar walked willingly to the pyre rather than abandon their peaceful ways than adopt the doctrine of the people who were murdering them, the Catholic church. These 'channellers' were a shining example of purity.

Having said that, skeptisism is healthy and you should be careful about choosing a psychic or medium. There are people out there who are fakes or could use their gifts in less than desirable ways. Word of mouth is always the best, but do make sure that the word comes from a mouth of someone who you can trust. Most of all listen to your own small inner voice before engaging in a process with someone. Many mediums are also trained counsellors and if you think a session might bring up difficult things, it might be an idea to look for someone who is.

On a final note, many psychics that I have met or read about did not go looking for the gift, in fact they often went through a stage of trying to get rid of it. They are normal people, trying to live normal lives with normal names. If you get my drift!