Top Tips For Psychics Who Want To Get Into The Paranormal Field

It usually creates grumbles in psychic circles when I say that you need some specialised skills to be efficient as a psychic/medium in the paranormal. I wouldn’t say it if it weren't for the years of experience I have working in the field. And by that I mean actual field. I am not someone who does one on one readings or stage mediumship, for good reasons that belong into a whole other blog article. From very early on in my run as a medium, I knew that those things weren't for me. I enjoyed the challenge of investigations too much, the questioning of the investigators, participating in experiments and even designing them. The more something or someone challenges me, the more I like it. I revel in seeing the paranormal field develop and grow year on year, something that really cannot be said for the spiritual field in general.

There are many distinct attributes that set aside a paranormal medium from stage mediums and those attributes will decide whether a medium will be efficient and effective in a paranormal investigation setting or not. I get asked a lot what those attributes are, how people can gain skills as mediums to be useful in the paranormal and what they need to do start working as a useful part of a team.

Here I am sharing some of my top tips regarding how you, as a psychic or medium can gain entry into the paranormal field and become an integral part of a team or even work as an independent medium investigator.

1              Just because you make claims that you're a psychic/medium it doesn't mean that anyone will employ your services as one.

You can write all the emails you want to teams out there. Chances are that if they even work with a medium they already have one. Someone who is tried and tested and with an established rapport with the other team members. Don't be disappointed if you get rejected. Many teams look for someone with some demonstrated experience in the paranormal field. The less training they have to give you on how an investigation works, the more time they can spend on investigating.

2              Make a name for yourself in the field.       

                                  

The paranormal community, anywhere in the world pretty much, is a pretty tight knit community with teams knowing eachother, independent investigators consulting with teams and eachother so when a name pop ups that they don't know, there is a degree of avoidance. Trust is imperative whether you're a solo investigator or a team so the best way to get started is to get involved in the community. If you just insert yourself from nowhere in the community and demand attention, I can tell you, all you will get are cold shoulders. People work extremely hard to establish themselves in this fringe field and they will expect, rightfully so, that newcomers will pay their dues so to speak. Go to events where those people hang out, there are plenty of them and the offerings are growing every year, talk to them, find out what they do, ask them lots of questions and make it known that you're looking at entering the field yourself. Investigators are social people, well most of them anyway, and they will be happy to introduce you to even more people in the field.

3              Learn about psychic research and paranormal research in general.

The paranormal scene has changed a lot in the last 5 years or so and teams are increasingly critical of mediumship and emphasis is now on using electronic devices to gather evidence. A medium's word is no longer taken at face value. And that is how it should be. The more familiar you are with investigative procedures, experimentation and what goes on during an investigation in general, the more useful you are going to be in the field. Forget about TV shows as a benchmark for good investigative practices and look at the work of reputable researchers. The field is diverse and there are plenty of great brains out there publishing about paranormal research. Seek them out and be an informed psychic/medium.

4              Have an impeccable record of integrity and professionalism.

Many a team has been brought down by an unscrupulous medium and their credibility lost due to shady conduct. It takes a long time to recover trust lost, not only with the clients but for the team as well. Same applies if you're a solo medium investigator. How you conduct yourself publicly, and that includes any sort of social media, will impact on your standing in the paranormal field as well as your ability to gain entry to a team.

5              Be prepared to be challenged in your skills and abilities.

This is a growing field and those who can't grow with it will be left behind. Growth happens when you are challenged, pushed to the very boundaries of your abilities and your beliefs. You have to have the strength to get up and keep going, the humility to say that you are wrong or don't know the answer to a question and the ability to recognise that you are not the centre of the universe at the investigation. A willingness to go anywhere you need to go and deal with whatever is at hand at a moment's notice is also a desirable skill that will stand you in good stead with investigators. I have climbed sand dunes and river banks in searing heat as well as spent nights in derelict buildings in the middle of the woods with no running water many a time to support an investigation. If you're not the type of person to do something like that, reconsider whether you really want to get into the field.

If after all the above you feel like you want to take the leap, I suggest you jump in with both feet or not at all. This field requires a high level of personal commitment and the diversity means that you never know what you'll get when you go out investigating so you'll have to think on your feet. If you like being challenged and to push yourself then don't hesitate. The rewards are well worth it!

Top Tips For Handling Kids' Paranormal Experiences

Children are a lot more open to the world of the unseen and if my own two (not so) little cherubs are anything to go by, there are plenty they experience. Because they have no framework at a young age to put the experiences in, they often get missed in the babble of talking about imaginary friends and storytelling games. Is there anything you can do to have those conversations with your child where they tell you about their unusual experiences? Of course there is.

1              Take your child seriously when they talk to you about their imaginary friends. Some of them may not be so imaginary. When our daughter spoke of seeing her grandmother in her bedroom a few days after she died, she was too young to understand the concept of death. She was perplexed by the fact that as far as she was concerned, her grandmother was living in a different country. Until one night she visited her granddaughter wearing her trademark polka dot blouse she loved so much. Michelle was adamant in the morning that she spoke with grandma in the night and the description she gave was a perfect likeness to what she looked like before she died.  The visit was a comfort not only to her but the rest of the family and we wouldn’t have known about it had we not taken the time and care to listen to her story.

2              Some spirits in your house or around your children may not come from your family tree. As it was the case with the house we live in. It's an old farmhouse and there are plenty of spirit shenanigans going on on a daily basis. As it turned out, the gentleman who built it was still around in his corporeal form after we have taken ownership of it and he took his cranky self to the kids room at night on occasion. Having not the heart to dispatch the old man from the house he built, we still wanted to take some steps to make the kids more comfortable sleeping in their own beds at night. We have put a sign on the door of their room that said loud and clear, "NO SPIRITS ARE ALLOWED!". That took care of that problem. They felt they have exerted their authority over their own room and who is allowed in and peace at night has returned once again. The old man was never felt or seen in that room again.

3              Sometimes it's hard for children to put into words what they see, especially if they have no concept of it, such as someone walking through a wall or hovering on the ceiling. In that case asking them to draw what they experienced will make it easier for them to recall the experience and getting them to talk about it. It also helps in getting the scale of what they experienced and some clues on how they feel about it.

4              Sometimes siblings will have shared experiences. Depending on their age and the age gap in between them, they might express their experiences differently. It's important to be supportive and listen to what they have to say and give them a platform that promotes trust and a feeling of not being alone with their experiences. Kids are naturally mediumistic and some will grow up keeping their ability and growing it, however some will push it into the background only for it to come out later in life in a higher intensity but with much less control.

5              Introducing concepts such as angels and spirit guides is all and well. However I would very much caution against labelling any sort of spirit or other paranormal experiences as evil. Apart from causing unnecessary stress for children, as they have no understanding of what it is other than it's bad, it can cause severe anxiety that will last for years and other disorders.

6              If you're concerned and you feel that you need to discuss your child's experiences,  I suggest that you do that away from your child. Children are very perceptive and will pick up on your beliefs about their experiences. They will need you to be the one they look to for comfort and as a confidant that won't laugh at them. You might not be of the opinion that what they experiences was real but to them it was.

In any case, the most important to remember is that if you are concerned about the mental or physical wellbeing of your child, you need to see an appropriate health professional without delay.