As a newer medium, I’ve noticed my own hesitations around telling people what I do for a living. It often comes out as “I’m a therapist. (Pause). And a Medium (Muffled, quiet voice)”. I find myself reading my audience first, like, how much am I going to scare or offend this person if I tell them the real truth about what I do? I recognize that part of this is a “me” issue and part of it is that there is still a fear around mediumship, psychics, and spirits in general. I recently participated in an open house in the collective space where I rent my office and I noticed that some people were apprehensive to even step into my office. It’s a cute office, very homey and warm, but even the idea of mediumship or talking to me was scary for some folks. I’m certainly understanding and respectful of that choice and also, it got me thinking…Where do fears around psychic mediumship come from?
A couple of obvious answers might be scary movies, religious teachings, or past portrayals of psychics in movies, tv, and other media. There is a lot of misinformation out there about what we do and most of it isn’t overly flattering. Not to mention that fact that having these abilities used to mean being burned at the stake. But the truth is, I am just a regular person who figured out I have this ability and then made the choice to continue to develop the skill so that I could use it to help people. Of course, using your own discernment in choosing a psychic medium is important, just as it is in choosing a therapist, acupuncturist, or doctor. (See my blog post on how to tell if a psychic is real or fake!).
In terms of religion, only you can know and understand how your religious beliefs fit into psychic mediumship or not. For me, psychic mediumship (and grief counseling) has absolutely nothing to do with religion. Of course I have my own spiritual practices and beliefs but my job isn’t to share those with you or try to convince you of anything other than what you choose to believe. Aside from the belief about how our Spirits live on after physical death…which is kind of a cornerstone of mediumship :)
Some folks are afraid of what they might hear from a psychic medium. This could be in terms of future predictions (which, as a medium, is my least favorite way to use my abilities) or in terms of what their deceased loved ones might say. As far as future predictions, what I tell my clients is that I’m happy to share whatever impressions are given to me when I connect but that they should be aware that these impressions are only really valid for the exact moment we are doing the reading. In other words, we all have free will. You could choose to go home and completely change the trajectory of your life, which would change the information you received in the reading.
A more common fear surrounds what a person might hear from their loved one on the other side. It’s a common and normal experience for us to feel guilt or regret about something that happened (or didn’t happen) before someone passed and, understandably, you might feel some hesitation that the Spirit will bring this up. In my experience, our loved ones on the other side do very commonly address these things…but in a way that is both loving and realistic. In other words, the most common message is that you don’t need to carry the guilt or regret, as nothing you could have done would have changed the outcome of the person’s death. And if there was something you could’ve done, they will say that too…but not in a way as to make you feel worse. The message is most commonly to let it go because the person isn’t holding onto bad feelings about it. When we pass, we not only lose our bodies, physical ailments, and emotional experiences, we also gain a great deal of love and understanding about how and why people do the things they do while here in the physical plane. In other words, we all make mistakes. That’s what we’re supposed to do while we’re here so that we can learn and grow. I also set the overall intention before every reading that everything that comes through is for the best and highest good of all involved and that whatever is most healing and helpful for the client in that moment is what comes through.
Another common fear is about ghosts or spirits in general. And I get it…I spent 40 years turning “off” this ability because I didn’t understand it and therefore it caused me a lot of fear and anxiety. Especially as a kid when no one really knew or understood the things I experienced (“No Kristin, there’s nothing in your closet”. Ummmm…about that)! I can assure you now that I’ve learned more and worked on my skills, it is actually the least scary thing I experience day-to-day (I live in downtown Denver so...take that as you will). In all seriousness, it is quite enjoyable, peaceful, fun, and loving! In my experience thus far, I don’t see Spirits or other things with my eyes. The way I describe it is this: if I ask you to imagine an apple right now, what happens? You probably don’t have an apple sitting in front of you at this very moment but you can see it in your mind’s eye, right? That is how Spirits “show” me things. It’s the same way with “hearing”. If I asked you to remember your grandmother’s laugh, you can probably hear it in your mind, right? As far as the use of inner knowing (claircognizance), the best way I can describe that is by asking you to remember the last time you had a strong intuition about something. You know when you just know something but you don’t know why? That is how Spirits use claircognizance to give me information.
And what about Spirits moving or manipulating objects or turning things on or off? Yes, that can happen! But in my experience, Spirits do very much understand and conform to the boundaries we set. If you don’t like something they are doing, ask them to stop. Or, if you want them to do more, ask for that too! I find that when they move things, it’s because they have been trying to get your attention for awhile but you haven’t noticed. Their intention isn’t to scare you (unless it’s your ornery cousin…then yes, he might be trying to scare you a little) but rather, to get your attention for some bigger reason.
What are some other common fears about psychic mediumship? Feel free to drop me a line and let me know! contact@kristinnathan.com
