I have attended many lectures, seminars, workshops, residential courses and the like and feel very strongly that the intrinsic difference between a psychic and a medium is not given nearly as much weight as it should be.

Psychic Ability

Psychic ability IS inherent within all of us, whether it is accepted within this 21st Century life or not, it is there. It is a natural ability that now is, sadly, a latent one. Mediumistic capabilities however, are not so readily to hand.

If any of the following have happened to you, then you can safely say you have had a psychic experience:

1. The phone rings and you know who it is before answering it;
2. Someone comes to mind that you have not seen or heard of for a while, following this they phone or visit you unexpectedly;
3. You have a prophetic dream;
4. You meet someone for the first time and sense that either they are not a pleasant person or that they are not in the mood which they are portraying;
5. You can sense a situation before it has happened (this can be both nice and not so nice things.)
6. You frequently have gut feelings, then ignore them to find they are proved right?

If you are not interested in taking it further then just be confident in the knowledge that you can always trust your intuition, your gut reaction, and it will never let you down.

On the other hand if you would like to make progression with it but are unsure how to continue, a useful thing to do would be get a group of friends together, perhaps people that you dont know so well. Offer to read Angel cards, playing cards or the Tarot if that is your inclination. You will be surprised what comes out at these New Age Tupperware parties. People love a free reading and remember what ever comes out should be confidential unless the recipient wishes otherwise. It is always best to try and read for someone on a 1-2-1 basis when you first begin developing this ability, otherwise things can get confusing as many energies together are difficult for the beginner to separate.

Alternatively, you could set up a home circle and work together to strengthen your abilities, work with colours, crystals, in fact anything. Psychometry is my favourite by far. Take a piece of jewellery from a friend and talk them through their life you will be surprised at what you didnt know that you knew.

If there are reputable classes in your area then join one, there are many institutions offering psychic development at a hefty price and I feel that much of the ground work can be done without expense. Go to the library and read as much as you can, it will broaden your mind on the subject and comfort you to know that others have these random experiences too.

Mediumship

I think a good marker is this saying Every medium is psychic but not every psychic is a medium. If Spirit want you to work for them your mediumistic abilities usually make themselves known quite blatantly. You WILL here voices and see faces, shadows and glimpses of things that turn out not to be there HOWEVER if those faces or voices tell you to do something to someone or yourself that is violent, unkind or unpleasant in anyway then it is NOT, I REPEAT NOT a true link to Spirit.

Spirit in its purest form will NEVER, NEVER tell you, ask you or request that you hurt yourself or anyone else for ANY reason. It is advisable to seek professional, medical help if this is happening to you.

However, Spirit can blow hot and cold when your development begins. One minute you will feel so on track and positive about the strengthening of your abilities and the next you cannot make communication with the person you live with never mind about someone who has passed to Spirit.

Mediumship can develop as a result of a life-changing event, an illness (not necessarily yours), or can be naturally inherent within you. I do not believe that any one starting point is better than another. In many respects if it is something that has been with you all of your life you can tend to develop bad habits with it, a bit like a relative teaching you to drive instead of having proper instruction prior to your test.

The dichotomy of mediumship is this, it is not quite as easy not to be a medium as it is not to be a psychic. Believe it or not it is a destiny and whilst you may never use it professionally or in a capacity to help others, Spirit will be very persistent in pushing you to develop your gift further if they think you are a good candidate. I have lost count of the number of jobs/careers I have embarked upon in the quest NOT to be a medium and all have drawn to a dead end (pardon the pun), I had huge issues with charging money for my natural gift and read for others for about 18 years before taking payment. The gift is not given to you to keep to yourself, nor to perform party tricks with, it is given to you to pass on communication from those in spirit to those still living. However, Spirit also know that you have to earn a living if you think of it as charging for your time and not your ability then you will not go far wrong. Again, as with psychic development, there are lots of people itching to take your hard earned cash in the name of teaching you. Steer well clear of those and visit your local Spiritualist church, sit through a few Divine services, and if you like what you see speak with the President who can advise you how to take your development further. One final word though, there is as much bitching and scratching within the world of Spirituality as there is in every day life. I made the mistake of thinking that people would be floating around the church, aided by their wings and constantly adjusting their halos this is not the case. Spiritualists are still humans and are still affected by jealously and normal human conditions of character be warned!