Mediums

I think Mediums are either earnest and honest but misguided or clever practitioners in deceiving people, but some people find their prognostications consoling.

I think Medium and petitioner need to be of one mind for it to work, so I have never consulted one and doubt whether it could work for me as neither the medium or myself would trust each other sufficiently.

Absolutely Monica - you are spot on with your first sentence.

I don't believe that mediums are misguided but I do believe that many so called exploit vulnerable bereaved and desperate people for financial gain via cold readings.
For many years I attended a Spiritualist church development circle, these were open to anyone. Sometimes we could convey a message but more often we could not.
One occasion sticks in my memory, a family had joined us, we asked them not to mention names or circumstances about the deceased. A name, an unusual one suddenly popped into my head and the words " Tell Mum I didn't mean to do it, it all went wrong". Due to the kinky image I received I didn't say anything to the family for fear of offending them.
After the service the family explained that the teenage son ( I'd his name correct) had died as a result of a dangerous sexual experiment.
No payment for the mediums was ever charged, there was a voluntary collection at the end of the sevice as is the norm with most religious services.

Oh that's very interesting, Judy. I must admit that although I say I don't believe, I find those kind of events very intriguing.

Judy I consider some misguided as they genuinely believe they are in contact with the dead. The others, who know they are misleading desperate people, are charlatans.

I don't know if some can do it but most are charlatans and cold readers. Watch Derren Brown. He shows you how it's done or simply google cold reading.

My grandma used to say that if you had the gift and made a profit from it then you lost it. The gift only worked as long as you used it for free.

OldMeg, I agree entirely, I have no explanation for my experience other than telepathy but that's another debate.
Those who exploit the bereaved and vulnerable are despicable charlatans wishing to line their pockets by cashing in on grieving people's desperate hopes.

Cold reading is easy if the target is grieving . Those people who fill a theatre and charge really annoy me. Several hundred people sure as eggs are eggs there will be some who know a Tom,Dick or Harry .

I think some people do have this gift , I knew a woman who was a healer and a medium , I saw her for healing for sciatica, one visit she asked me if I would give an envelope to my husband ,she knew he was in no way a believer but said she had to pass it on to him. I gave it him, it was a rough plan of a narrow country road going over a mountain, not often used, she drew trees, a gate and a X about several 100 yards from the gate, wrote - please check this spot, he read it and dismissed it, about a week later he had to attend court in a town the other side of the mountain, late as usual, the main road had major road works so he and the officer with him decided to take the back road. They passed one car parked on the road side . After court on the way back the car was still there, near a gate with two trees near, it rung a bell and they went over the gate and up the hill, lying a few hundred yards from the gate was a sleeping bag, in the bag was a corpse of a suicide. If they hadn't looked the body may have been there quite some time, not a pleasant thought with the wildlife on that mountain.

As young wives my neighbours and I used to get a medium to come to someones house ,we'd all have a reading..didn't really take it seriously though .It was just a bit of entertainment.Then one night after a few readings she came through to the kitchen where we were sitting and spoke to one women .She told her to go home straight away as he rchildren were in danger .Seems she's left toddler twins with her OH who once they were asleep had nipped out to a local shop.The twins had wakened and gone looking for him ,knocking down a clothes horse in front of the fire ,the fire destroyed the house and the twins died.There was no way the medium could have known even where the house was ,it was streets away or that the woman had children or had left them.There are things we dont understand so I kinda keep an open mind .But I was there and I'll never forget it or the devastation after

Not me but my mother, her sister and 3 cousins had a reading a few years ago. Everyone had a private reading then the youngest cousin went in and the medium told her quite forceble to get out in fact she grabbed her arm and pushed her outside.
2 months later this cousin caused a traffic accident driving to fast where she and 2 young lads died.
Still don't know whether to believe in mediums or not. Never been to one myself.

I went to one a few months ago, who has a very good reputation, and weeks to wait for an appointment. I have to say, I thought she was rubbish.
It got embarrassing in the end. I felt she saw a single woman in her 50s, and started saying how I like to go out 'with the girls'. Nope - I can't stand that kind of night out and never have enjoyed them.
Next was "ooh, that's right, but you do like a drink though, don't you? You sometimes go a bit over the top with it"
No, I'm tee total and have been for years. I can't stand drink or drinkers, I said.
So next was "what is it about you and men?"
What do you mean?
"You can't half pick 'em, you've had some bad ones"
No, I'm still friendly with them all, and they are all decent men.
"Oh, well I hope you've found it useful, that'll be £45 please."

I felt quite offended by the time I came out. She said my dad was nice when he was down the pub and a tyrant at home - not true. He didn't go to the pub and I never heard him raise his voice. My mum appeared with a jack Russel in tow. (She didn't particularly like animals, and would never have had a dog) She also, apparently loved bingo, and was urging me to get out and have a drink and let my hair down. That would be the last thing my mum would ever say!

A work colleague and I went to a fortune teller for a reading - we were both in our early twenties and recently married. She told me my husband must see about his bad back or he would spend a long time in bed . She was spot on, he complained about back ache from the time we met and the doctor was hopeless at helping him. When I told him what the fortune teller said, despite being sceptical, he made an appointment with a chiropractor who advised he needed treatment but couldn't say how many visits would be needed. Despite thinking this could be a method of making money at our expense, he went ahead with it and after six visits, his back was fine. The chiropractor said he might need to come back infrequently for a top up. He needed to go back only once.
My colleague was told that her marriage wasn't going at all well (true), both of us were told things she couldn't have guessed.

We later told a much older colleague what we'd done and she said she'd never go to a clairvoyant after her experience. She went with a group of friends. To one girl, said she couldn't see anything for herand the next day, the girl died in an accident. Ooer.

I remember seeing a programme many years ago about mediums, they were all rubbish bar one, a barber from Scotland who was amazing. I think there are a lot who are charlatans but I think there are one or two with a gift

Some people seem to find the most flimsy evidence as proof, I think. A lot of it is very generic 'one size fits all' statements.
I'm getting a grey haired lady, and who's Mary? Also, I'm being told to tell you March? April? Yes, that's right, I knew it was in the spring sometime..

I would be interested in going to a meeting but I am sure there is no real sense in it.

Springychicken said

She told me my husband must see about his bad back or he would spend a long time in bed . She was spot on, he complained about back ache from the time we met and the doctor was hopeless at helping him.
Well I count that as probably stating the bleeding obvious, which is also how mediums work.

Nanawind said ...,
Not me but my mother, her sister and 3 cousins had a reading a few years ago. Everyone had a private reading then the youngest cousin went in and the medium told her quite forcibly to get out in fact she grabbed her arm and pushed her outside.

2 months later this cousin caused a traffic accident driving to fast where she and 2 young lads died. Still don't know whether to believe in mediums or not.

There is no logical connection between these comments of the medium and what happened later on. If you just half believe in this you will probably see something in such a comment.

Coincidence and psychology is part of this. Tell someone to be careful of "whatever" and when you do happen to have a mishap you will probably automatically recall what was said and make the connection.
The medium has, by what they have said, has suggested to you that you might which every one "might."

Mediumship is different to clairvoyance. Clairvoyancy is a claim to perceiving future events as is fortune telling that I associate with a Madame Zorro with hooped earrings in a veiled seaside booth.

I saw a medium 2 months after my DH suddenly died last year. This medium teaches mediumship at the London Psychic School

He 'knew' how long ago my DH had passed, that I had 2 children and their gender, my father's name and occupation, the town where I was born and described my late DH very accurately.

There was no way he could have known any of these facts, either online or from cold reading ( I never have him any clues)

I think there are many charlatans out there but I have heard many genuine ones. I've had too much validation not to believe in the spirit world. And I'm a pretty down to earth sort of woman.

I keep an open mind because who knows what science will discover in the future?

My friend lost her brother and for a couple of years after his death she would drive his widow to see different mediums. The SiL was convinced that it was possible to contact her husband. I remember one time she was given a cassette tape with a recording of the session and my friend and I listened to it, but given that I can't remember anything about it, it couldn't have been much good!

Personally I wouldn't go to see someone because I would probably dwell too much on what the person said and it's not cheap either.

There's something distasteful about charging for a reading.

In 2015 I met a woman who told me about a place that had a meditation group. I was interested and went along, I was surprised to find they also taught how to do psychic and tarot readings, psychometry etc. I found most people had some ability even though they had never done this before. On the first night after the meditation we sat in groups of six and each person attempted to do a reading for someone in the group. I concentrated very hard and it seemed to me to be looking through a tiny keyhole and I could see inside an old train and heard the words going on a journey. The woman said she was in fact going on two journeys in the near future and one involved a train trip. The next woman read for a younger woman and we all concentrated too. While I was trying hard to concentrate I could hear a frantic voice in my head (I have never heard a spoken voice in my head before this night only thoughts). Anyway I was trying to concentrate and kept trying to push this voice away. It was a man and he kept repeating “tell her Berts okay, tell her Berts okay, tell her Berts okay..... after the woman who was doing the reading had finished I asked the woman who was having the reading if I could tell her what I had gotten. I asked her if she knew a Bert and she said when she was about 18 she used to catch the train everyday and often she would be caught in the rain. An old man used to drive past each day and park at the railway station. One day he asked her if she would like a lift to the station. She said his name was Bert and they became friends and he died 26 years ago.

Each week we did something different, one time we all put jewellery in a box in our way in. After the meditation the box was handed around and we chose a piece of jewellery. I had a ring and concentrated and could see a woman’s hand wearing a ring, then I saw Felix the cat and it morphed into a black cat. Next I saw Lucille Ball and she morphed into an older woman (89/90s) with faded blonde/grey hair in the style that Lucille Ball used to wear with curls at the front and her hair smoothed to a bun at the back. I said what I saw and the woman whose ring it was thanked me and said I had described her late mother and the ring was hers.

I think meditation is the key and I believe it’s our sub conscience and not angels or guides. People often know something is going to happen. I often get small scenarios of things and shortly after it happens but never thought I could hold someone’s hand or their jewellery and pick things up about them. I never got more than a few things each time but it was fun.

I've got an open mind around this subject. So many well intentioned fakes but also some amazing evidence of accurate mediums. I'd actually not want to go to one for fear of what I might hear. Doris Stokes' books are worth a read.

First time ever I am tempted , this really troubles me , my faith tells me it's wrong

I'm tempted too, Annie, despite wasting money months back. I suppose we know why its on our minds..

Yes MisAdventure we need the same thing x