Are Psychics Real?

abracad, April 16, 2011 · Categories: psychic development, spirituality

These days more and more people are turning to an ever-increasing range of psychics offering supernatural enlightenmentÂ - in return for a fee. This article describes the purpose of psychics and mediums, considers their authenticity, and gives advice on choosing the right psychic for you.

What is a Psychic?

The physical universe we inhabit, vast as it is, is but an infinitesimal part of a greater reality commonly described a God, Source, or Spirit. For the most part of our incarnate life we are unaware of this greater reality as our focus is drawn to earthly matters. However, at essence we are Spirit, and with an appropriate shift of consciousness may become aware of its existence.

We probably all receive spontaneous glimpses of this hidden realm, eg through coincidences. Psychics are simply those who either naturally find it easier to shift focus from the earth plane to the Spirit realm and/or who have made the effort to develop this natural faculty.

Essentially a psychic is able, at will, to tap into the Spiritual realm to obtain information that wouldn't be available by physical means.

Difference Between Psychics and Mediums

They may well be one and the same person, but the terms psychic and medium describe the means in which they are functioning. Psychics obtain their information from the greater Spiritual "ether". Mediums are able to communicate with the surviving consciousness of individuals who have passed away from the earth plane.

Psychics - Real or Fake?

That human beings are able to obtain information from, or influence, physical reality by non-physical means is established scientific fact supported by over a century of rigorous research and a mass of documented evidence from both spontaneous phenomena and controlled laboratory experiments.

It is puzzling that some members of the scientific community still fail to recognize the truth of psychic phenomena. This may be due to the fact that the mechanisms of psychic functioning defy explanation in physical terms.

I'd like to think that the majority of professional psychics are genuine, but as with every endeavor where money is to be made there are of course fakes among the psychic community. By learning a psychological technique called "cold reading" it's relatively easy for out-of-work actors manning psychic hotlines to pick up on a few clues to tell callers exactly what they want to hear - and maybe performing a valuable social service in the process! It's quite possible as fake psychics continue "cold reading" that their innate psychic faculties begin to develop and they actually offer genuine insights.

It's likely that psychic ability varies from person to person, and even within the same person from time to time or context to context (eg a psychic who may be great for querent A may get nothing for querent B). It's also likely that with the right effort, we can all improve our innate psychic ability.

But no psychic can ever be expected to deliver 100% accuracy. The strongest evidence for the existence of psychic functioning provided by the field of parapsychology is based on scores of just a few percet above chance, delivered over very many trials.

So, in seeking psychic advice always use your personal discretion in what to accept and the extent to which you base future choices and actions on the advice received. Consider having readings from different psychics, giving greater weight to those themes that occur repeatedly. Always remember you have free will.

How to Find a Psychic

Psychics aren't generally good or bad per se, but can vary enormously in accuracy for each sitter. It's very important to find the right psychic for you, and this can involve some trial and error.

A good place to start is your local Spiritualist church. Spiritualism is a worldwide movement that believes consciousness survives bodily death and that communication between departed souls and the living is possible. Spiritualist "churches" organize regular services that feature a period of clairvoyance with a medium, and also run open sessions for beginners. You may receive a reading during such a session, or if you feel particularly positive towards a medium may be able to arrange a private sitting.

Recommendation from friends can be a useful starting point, but as a psychic is effectively acting as a channel between the sitter and the unseen realms a rapport between the two is essential. Thus recommendations from friends of a similar disposition to yourself are most likely to prove fruitful.

Psychic fairs give you the opportunity to talk to a variety of psychics before booking a sitting with one. Listen to your intuition in choosing, it will usually guide you well.

Don't be disappointed if your first few readings aren't as successful as you hoped. You may need to sit with a number of psychics before finding the one that really works for you. You should find that each sitting tends to improve as you become more attuned to the Spiritual reality, thus making the psychics job easier.

The Purpose of a Psychic Reading

The most important purpose of a psychic reading is to provide evidence that we are part of something much bigger than our limited lifetime on this minute speck floating in the cosmos. Similarly mediums help demonstrate personal eternality and that individual consciousness survives bodily death. By providing information that transcends the limits of physical knowledge the psychic helps prove the existence of a greater reality and thus makes it easier for us to live purposefully in this knowledge.

Many people visit psychics looking for answers to problems they may be facing. And indeed psychics can offer advice on such matters, whether channeled from a departed loved one or from the general Spiritual ether. However, we should always remember that we have free will, and that ultimately any decision must be our own - albeit taking account of psychically-obtained guidance.

Preparing for a Psychic Reading

Decide in advance what you want to get from the reading. This may help in your choice of psychic or medium. If you have any questions, write them down in advance.

Ask if you can tape record the sitting. Most psychics won't have a problem with this. Some will even tape record the reading for you.

Try to clear your mind before the reading. Meditation, if you are able, is excellent preparation. Otherwise, just spend the day quietly, preferably alone, and without emotional stimulation.

Treat every reading as an experiment. Most will yield positive results, but there is no guarantee - so don't be disappointed or discouraged if the reading is unsuccessful.

Can Psychics Predict the Future?

Recent par psychological research and the findings of modern physics both suggest that time is very different than how we perceive it. Mediums have long reported that time in the Spirit world has no meaning. Which all suggests that the future is predictable.

However, having free will we (help) create our future by the choices we make in the present, which appears to rule out psychical prediction. For example, if a psychic told you that you were going to perish in an air crash you'd probably avoid taking airplanes ever after, thus invalidating the prediction.

What seems likely is that psychics can indicate what's likely, probabilistically, to happen in the future. This is how psychic abilities manifest themselves in the laboratory, eg instead of guessing a chance 50% of coin tosses a gifted psychic might be able to manage 55%, which might not sound like a great success rate but is highly statistically significant if maintained over a large number of trials.

Psychics do offer predictions for the future, but these indicate likelihoods rather than certainty. And you can usually avoid an undesired future likelihood by applying your free will.

Develop Your Own Psychic Ability

As mentioned above we all are all Spirit at essence and as such are all part of the Spirit realm with un/under-used psychic abilities of our own.

An alternative to having a reading with a psychic is to begin the process of developing your own psychic ability, thereby cutting out the middle man and receiving your own psychic impressions directly.

This option is neither quick nor easy, and one that may best be pursued in parallel with having readings with established psychics. However, if you feel the Spiritual path is right for you it is an option you will likely pursue at some time or another.

For more advice on developing your psychic ability, see How to Become Psychic