Dear Soul Arcanum:
Do you think the mediums we see on TV are the best? I have been trying to get a reading with a famous medium for a long time now, but their waiting lists are incredibly long and their prices are really steep. Do you think it will prove worth it?
– Susan
Dear Susan:
From what I’ve seen of the top celebrity mediums, they are very gifted, do excellent work, and have stellar integrity. We must remember, however, that when it comes to television, we only see the most dramatic, entertaining and impressive moments. Whatever actually happened may be edited, recreated for the camera, or otherwise enhanced to produce a certain effect.
I have personally never met a medium who can bring through evidence from any spirit at any time. This is because a gifted medium is only one part of the spirit communication equation.
As a medium myself, I have had many amazing experiences, such as accurately bringing through names, nicknames, visual descriptions, and other identifying details from spirits. At first I assumed this ability would only grow stronger and more reliable, but that has not been the case. I may have a fantastic spirit communication session, then a number that fall flat, and then another great one. I’ve also seen some very gifted mediums give amazing readings, and then a few years later seen those same mediums seem vague and unsure. As a result of all of this, I don’t believe that spirit communication is something that any medium can guarantee.
Some of the difficulty lies in what we consider evidence. It’s rare for me to get nothing when I tune in. Sometimes I feel like I have a connection, but I can’t be sure it is with the spirit being sought. The only way to know for sure who I “have on the line” is if they give me clear identifying details, which doesn’t happen all the time.
I believe one reason is because the spirit world is a realm of emotion. As we don’t HAVE names or physical bodies in the afterlife, it is far easier to get an emotional message from a spirit (such as a message of love and affection) than to get the sort of details that skeptics may consider evidential.
So even if a medium is a clear channel, for her to bring through evidence, the spirits involved must also be able to summon the mental clarity and focus to remember details that don’t matter to them anymore, and then somehow translate those into mental messages and skillfully communicate them.
Let’s say that years ago, you took a college history course. What from that class do you remember? The professor’s full name? The course description? The title of the textbook? Can you remember what you learned in the class?
If you’re like me, you can’t remember most of those details. One or two things may stand out in your memory, such as the girl who always sat in front of you and ate pomegranates during lectures, and some startling bit of trivia that the professor threw out one day that you thought about long after. You may remember how the classroom looked, and where you sat, and the color of your book bag. The friends you went to class with, however, may share none of your memories because they have their own unique set.
This is like being a spirit trying to remember a certain relationship experience from the life just left. The little details fade out quickly, but the overall feeling of the experience remains. Your loved ones on earth may not remember any of the things you remember, and yet they are hoping you will produce the details that were most important to them.
In light of all of this, I consider it a miracle every time I AM able to bring through details that send the grieving soaring with hope and amazement. I also try to judge the value of my work not by the facts I am able to bring through, but by the effect they have on the person I’m working with. Sometimes I bring through all kinds of evidence, and it’s not what the person I’m reading for was hoping to receive, and they’re disappointed. Other times, I don’t bring through what I consider to be amazing evidence, but it means everything to my clients, or they can feel the spirit of their loved ones coming through.
Even after all these years, there are days when I consider giving up my work as a medium. When I feel bad because I have failed to produce for someone, I am reminded of all the amazing readings I’ve done in the past. When I get down like this, Spirit also encourages me to imagine what it must be like to be a doctor who is unable to cure a patient. If they all quit when this happened, we wouldn’t have any doctors!
Psychic celebrities are working with all of these challenges, plus some. For example, many psychic celebrities are actually on their way down. By this I mean that they once had great ability, but then a dose of big success fanned the flames of their egos and led them to want more fame and financial success. Succumbing to the ego like this will lower our vibration, which will diminish our spiritual abilities.
Other famous mediums may be motivated by a sincere desire to help people, to remove the stigma associated with everything “psychic,” or to share with the world the discovery they hold most dear: that we do indeed continue on after death. I am grateful to those spiritual teachers who are willing to put up with all the headaches that come with fame. I have often marveled at mediums like John Edwards, for I know I couldn’t handle the pressure and lack of peace and privacy he must deal with every day.
In my view, the trappings of fame could weigh down even the most sincere and gifted psychic. (Psychics are extremely sensitive, of course, so just the commotion would be unnerving!) For one thing, there is only so much one person can do. To me, psychic reading work is a bit like running. I can only run so much before my body starts to ache, and instead of growing stronger and fitter, injuries and exhaustion take over.
It’s the same with psychic work: trying to do too much of something so spiritually demanding is a recipe for psychic breakdown. When I imagine the demand that psychic celebrities must have for their work, and how much pressure they must feel to “perform,” I figure they must burn out pretty quickly.
Further, celebrities tend to attract hangers on – people hoping to hitch their wagons to a rising star. Celebrities then hire agents, publicists, assistants, etc., and feel responsible for being able to pay those people, which often tempts them to consider doing things for money that they might not otherwise.
So while I do believe that some of the respected mediums on TV are talented and sincere, I also believe there are many “undiscovered” mediums who are just as gifted, who charge reasonable fees and are far more accessible. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a celebrity reading and waiting more than a year for your appointment, I recommend you explore the work of readers who are a bit more down to earth and charge a reasonable sum for their time and energy.
Then if you do get an excellent reading, don’t assume that you could get something even better from a “star.” While you might be right, the opposite could also be true, for over the years I’ve heard from many people who invested a lot in a celebrity reading and were sorely disappointed.
I also believe you can manifest what you want by consciously working with the law of attraction. Ask Spirit to guide you to the right reader for you, and then vividly imagine how you will feel when you get the best reading of your life. If you do this, what you desire will naturally evolve in your experience.
– Soul Arcanum