Mediumship 101
Author Unknown

How to Give Your First Readings

You recognize that you have may have the gift, the question now becomes, "how do I develop my gift so that I can give meaningful readings too?" The answer, given to me long ago by my spirit guide, Sea Eagle, is simply "you learn by doing."

TAKE COMFORT AND GATHER YOUR COURAGE THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS:

I found it very comforting to read the biographies of celebrity mediums. Nearly all of them, Sylvia Brown, Rosemary Altea, James Van Praagh, George Anderson, include within their stories examples of remarkable readings they've given. Most of these mediums have devoted entire sections within their books to case studies. Reviewing the work and experience of other will help you understand what kind of information you can expect from the spirit world and how it should be presented during a reading.

There are many on-line open readings given by professional mediums that you can observe. Mediums hold open readings as a means of demonstration. The point is not to give everyone watching a reading, but rather to 'showcase' their abilities, in hopes of soliciting reading work. Many mediums who earn their livings using their psychic abilities offer open demonstration readings that you can observe on-line.

Observing open readings is an excellent way to see live, up-close and personal, what kind of information is received from the spirit world and relayed to the living in our world. I recommend that you observe an open reading in a chat room, and later, when you feel ready you can use the same hopeful guests for practice in developing your own abilities.

HOW DO I START?

It takes a lot of courage to attempt your first few readings. No one wants to feel like a fool, a fraud, or even worse, relay hurtful information to the grief-stricken. Realize that you will not be alone in giving your first reading, your spirit guide will be at your side, not only to help you telepathically receive, but to help ensure that you relay the most positive, healing messages possible. You may see what can best be described as little whisps of white clouds, moving about your computer screen. Affectionately known as "floaties," these clouds are actually energy impressions left by the spirits in attendance.

Your spirit guide will assist you whether you have identified him or her or not. It wasn't until I began giving readings and teaching other mediums to develop their abilities that I "met" my spirit guide.

A developing medium I will call "Louisa," wrote to me recently and described her first attempt at giving a private reading in a chat room;

"I took Terry aside and tried to give her a reading in private message. I don't know what happened. I froze!!! I was mortified!!! I was sweating and feeling like a complete idiot. I got a clear vision of Terry's love of her life, Craig. She was getting very excited as I described him to her perfectly. Then, WHAM!!! I got distracted and went blank."

Louisa's experience is about par for the course. Our lives are about conquering fear, in all it's forms. Developing your mediumship abilities is no different than many of the other challenges you'll face in everyday life. Louisa gave Terry a vivid description of her lost love. Terry will never forget Louisa's exacting vision of Craig, given to her by a virtual stranger, who couldn't possibly have known him in life. Craig's physical description may have only been one "thing," but it was nevertheless, a GRAND initial SUCCESS for Louisa.

Not everyone will experience tremendous fear, but if you do, you can overcome it. Here's a foolproof, fearless, virtually painless way to approach your first readings. Say you are observing another medium giving open readings on-line in a chat room. There is one medium and a hundred hopefuls present and waiting. It's obvious that most of the people waiting aren't going to get a reading tonight. You realize that you will only develop your own abilities by doing. You scan the names of those in the chat room until your eyes focus on a name. Recognize that your spirit guide is helping you select the most receptive candidate possible, and trust in that.

Click the selected person into private message and introduce yourself. "Hi, my name is Karen. How are you tonight? I am a developing medium. I don't want to get your hopes up, so let me explain; Sometimes I get the things that are wrong, sometimes I get nothing, and sometimes, I get incredible, wonderful things! I can't promise you anything but would you like me to try a reading for you?" Of course they answer "YESSSSSSS!!!!!!" Then you remind them, "There won't be any hard feelings right, if I can't get your person tonight? They graciously respond, "Of course not!"

Now you're set. There is no pressure, merely a win/win situation. If you connect for them, wonderful, if not, then you've entertained them while they waited in vain to be picked by the "real medium." Can you accidentally hurt them? Of course not, you've already told them that you are sometimes 'wrong.'

DIAL THE SPIRITUAL PHONE NUMBER

Now it's time to attempt a connection with someone in the spirit world, the next dimension, Heaven World, whatever name you choose for it. You will need to dial the person's "spiritual phone number" to make the connection. When I first started, I asked for the loved one's complete name, date of birth and date of passage. If you find something else works for you better, then use it. This is just how I started.

I then stared at the name and dates given, and, for lack of better earthly words, I began to try to IMAGINE what the loved one looked like. The process of trying to IMAGINE is what actually pulls the spirit's earthly IMAGE into your mind. Remember, especially if you start to blank; stay calm, retain your composure type in 'waiting' to signal that you are working on the connection. Remember, your spirit guide is beside you, bringing the person you're "calling" to you. Remember to imagine, because to IMAGINE brings the IMAGE IN.

When I see a person in spirit, I see them in my mind, after trying to IMAGINE them. The spirit person in my mind looks like an old memory, only the memory doesn't belong to me. To give yourself an idea of how a person in spirit will look, recall a memory of a child hood friend from long ago, whether you have your eyes open or closed, and this is how you can expect to 'see' a person in spirit.

Next as you "imagine" the person, bringing their image into your mind, go ahead and describe the person you are "seeing." You will be surprised of how accurate you are you're doing it! If the description doesn't fit, don't despair, it doesn't mean you can't be a psychic reader. It's happened to me too, plenty of times. I will cover this situation later in the "trouble shooting" section. You'll find that tuning in on the 'right spirit' is simply a matter of persistence and courage, as is success in all of life.

WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION COMES TO A DEVELOPING MEDIUM?

The examples I will give you now are from some of my earliest readings. During your initial attempts, your goal is to relay at least one piece of "evidence" which will prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that their loved one has truly survived "physical death.' Your hoping to hit on that one real ZINGER to which they invariably respond, "OH MY GOD!!!!" (Or, OMG!) Any initial reading in which you encounter that kind of feedback, even if it's only for one thing, is a HUGE SUCCESS.

EXAMPLES OF REAL ZINGERS. EARLY READINGS.

In your early readings, you will get used to seeing odd things. It's up to you to find the courage to deliver the messages that you see. Here are some examples from my earliest work. These I have never forgotten, nor will those lucky enough to have been on the receiving end of these communications. Although bizarre, these messages gave folks absolute proof that their loved ones continued to live on after "death."

MESSAGES IN PIECES - PSYCHIC SIGN LANGUAGE:

Never pre-judge the information you receive. You might think, "Oh Geeze, that is Soooo Stupid!!!" But you'll be surprised to learn that the strangest visions are often the most important. If you have a strong vision in the beginning that does not make sense when delivered, consider these examples. In my early readings, the symbols occasionally need to be put together, almost like some psychic form of sign language. So study the next examples and remember, it's all about having courage to deliver the messages.

Symbols, Words And Walks Through The Woods:

I was reading for a widower and had contacted her husband. Physical description had matched, and a few names I gave related to her family, those here and in spirit. Next I saw, in my mind, a green leaf and underneath was written the word "spearmint." The widower was awestruck as she explained her departed husband had an annoying habit of picking wild spearmint leaves out of the words and presenting them for her to taste. There is very little chance that I could have guessed a symbolic combination like this that would mean so very much to her. In the end, what was at one time her husband's annoying habit, became a symbolic communication providing absolute proof of his soul's survival.

An Airplane Makes Magical Music:

I was reading for a mother and was contacting her departed son who had passed in his late twenties. I saw a vision of an airplane, and noticed the color was silver, which appealed to me as a 'hint.' Next my vision focused in on the wing of the plane. I told the mother of the vision. The mother at first couldn't relate. Then it hit me, to put the two pieces together and I relayed "Silver Wing, " or "Silver Wings." The mother revealed that her son had been a member of the Green Berets, and their theme song is, "Silver Wings." Tearfully, the mother explained her son had learned to play this very song on his trumpet, which had been a proud achievement for him. This was the part of her reading in which the mother knew, without a doubt, that she had indeed heard from her son.

VISIONS THAT SEEM TO RIDICULOUS TO RELAY

Meaningful Shoelaces:

Still fearful of giving live mediumship readings (in person), I used to read tarot cards instead. One woman, hearing of my mediumship abilities, begged me to try to contact her high-school sweetheart, "Rabbit." Rabbit had died in his early 30's from Aids after infection from a dental office. I told her we could try to contact her friend, after all, what would we have to loose? I was as bored by the tarot cards as she must have been.

To my surprise, I saw her friend very clearly, giving a perfect physical description, including the type of clothing he typically wore. Rabbit relayed several pieces of significant information. I clearly heard the song playing in my head, "Sweet Sixteen." The woman revealed to me that Rabbit had attended her sweet-sixteen party.

Then, I saw an image of someone tying a set of shoelaces. It was a vision only of hands, tying a pair of generic looking tennis shoe laces, and that's it. I ignored the shoe lace vision as it seemed too ridiculous, much less embarrassing, to relate. I proceeded with a few other tidbits of information given to me. A second and third time, intermittently, I received the same vision of someone tying shoelaces. Finally I said, "Well, I've seen this now three times so I guess Id best tell you; I see a person tying shoes."

The woman's eyes clouded up in tears of joy, she looked a bit stunned. The woman revealed that all through high school her departed friend Rabbit had made fun of the unusual way she tied her shoes. At this point in the reading, the woman jumped up from our table and ran out to the back deck to tell her husband she had just spoken with her departed high-school sweetheart. She was overjoyed, and hubby, stunned by his wife's emotional state, seemed a bit jealous!

He's Got the Whole World, In His Hands:

I was reading for the mother of a teen-aged son, who had passed as a result of an illness. I received many pieces of information that the boy's mother found meaningful. It wasn't until the end of the session that the real-zinger hit. I saw the boy, standing. The woman's son stretched out his arms. A vision of a world appeared, between her son's arms, spinning slowly, and, like a globe of the world, appeared as slightly transparent. As I described the scene, the boy's mother was overjoyed! The mother explained that she'd had a habit of telling her son that she loved him "more than the world." This spinning-world vision gave the mother ultimate proof of her son's survival in that it upheld a common theme known only between the two of them.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

When I began giving meduimship readings, I did have some troubles. Often, when the connection appeared to be wrong, right off the bat, I thought that maybe I should give up, end the reading and shirk off into a corner and pout. This is a natural response, especially when you're just beginning. If you find yourself facing a recipient who is replying, no, no, no, to everything you offer, don't be discouraged. Here are some examples, in the form of short stories that help you understand that most readings can eventually be successful ones. You must simply be persistent, patient and, here's that word again, courageous.

The Truck Driver and His Shiny New Rig:

A young woman asked me to contact her deceased father. At the beginning of the reading, I immediately saw a wiry truck driver, about 5'9", standing proudly in front of a brand new, shiny red tractor-trailer. The man appeared so happy, but I was disappointed to find that this truck driver hadn't matcher the woman's father at all. I panicked, because, to make matters worse, this was one of my very first readings for which I had accepted payment. I thought about abandoning ship, but then decided, since I was going to give her the money back if I couldn't connect, why not just keep trying for a while?

So, I tried again. I concentrated very hard on clearing my mind. One technique I use that works is I picture a TV set with the screen on a fuzzy station. Then, I mentally 'click' the channel to a working station, and "imagine" the person's loved one again. This time I got a large man, over six-foot, which appeared to be of Native American descent with black hair and brown eyes. BINGO! It was her pop. From there the reading went really well. In the end, she said I'd hit on all five aspects of her father's life that were most important to him.

I also saw a vision of a bow and arrow that looked like a toy, for children. The woman told me she had just purchased the toy I'd described for her son the previous weekend. It appears that pop was happy and watching over his daughter and, all in all, was one of the best, most accurate readings I'd given up until that time. Who was the truck driver? I don't know and it doesn't matter. The point is if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR:

I was giving a reading to a mother who had lost her twenty something daughter in a car accident. During the reading, I passed along several tidbits that were recognized by the mother. However, over and over again, I got the image of a star. The mother, although kind, could not understand any connection related to a star. Over and over the star symbol appeared, even the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" played in my mind. Each time, the girl's mother drew a blank. I finally gave up, as it seemed the same symbol continued to come and each time it was refused.

The next day the girl's mother emailed me. She had completely forgotten, during the reading, but had now recalled a connection to the star symbol. The girl's Uncle had participated in an organization where you can purchase and dedicate a star to someone who has died, as a memorial. This was a rather large gift; the purchase of a star is apparently quite pricey. The mother apologized for not recognizing what her daughter was telling her earlier.

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