5 Ways To Challenge Your Paranormal Team's Psychic/Medium - and they are going to love it!

To each their own is my philosophy. Some teams in the para field are adamant that psychics have no place in the field and some have their own, in-house psychic. Some teams are comprised of psychics entirely. Some have sensitives, some have skeptics. Some have a mixture of all of the above. This article is not about telling you which one is the best combination. As far as I am concerned all that matters is that the team are happy and work well with eachother.

If you work with psychics or may be considering working with them in the future, you will find this article useful. Well, I hope anyway.

Here are five ways to engage them in your paranormal investigations, whether private cases, public investigations or commercial locations.

1            Prepare a kit for them to use prior to the investigation. Include items that relate to the location you're investigating. Include some "easter eggs", items that have nothing to do with the location. It can contain things like old photos, items that were used at that location or relate to activities being carried out at the location, even replicas of items, sound bytes or even paragraphs of stories. Get as creative as you like. This is also a good way to gauge how suggestible your psychic is as well as whether they use cold reading techniques to gather information. Disclose nothing of the location you're investigating but leave your psychic plenty of time to work on items from the kit. They may use all of the items or just some of them. Extra brownie points for those who can point out the easter eggs.

2              Obtain a floor plan to the location you're investigating. If a floor plan is not available, just draw one up yourself. Don't worry about it not being an architectural drawing as long as it represents the rough proportions of the property. Give it to your psychic in advance for them to get a "feel" for it. Ask them to give your information on things like, what type of activity they feel is occurring and where. What each room feels like or looks like. Who does what in each room. As in what the day to day use of a space is. Are there any significant items in any of the spaces that might relate to activity. Again, get creative but also allow them to come up with their own information. If you want to push them just a little bit further, ask them to draw the floor plan themselves based on the psychic information they are getting. Do not disclose any information about the location. Extra brownie points for those who can differentiate between the activity of the living and any supposed spirits that may haunt the place.

3              Many psychics read from photos. If you've researched your location, like a diligent paranormal investigator should, you would more than likely have come across some images from that property's past. Pick one that is not an obvious and popular image and get your psychic to read the image. Ask them to provide information on people that have associations with that property or historic events that might have happened there. For a private case, ask permission from the client to use a photo of people living in the house, including some that have passed. Your psychic should attempt to point out relationships between people in the photos as well as gain insight on whether any particular person has any paranormal activity happening around them and what that activity is. Of course for this, as any private case, you'll have to pay particular attention to the client's privacy. As in all of the previous suggestions, give no information to your psychic. Extra brownie points go to anyone that can give names or initials of persons of interest relating to the photos.

4              Re-enactments can be useful during investigations as era cues have been show to produce some great results by teams. Your psychic can help you with that. Tapping into time lines and events that happened at a location, be it indoors or outdoors, private case or commercial building can assist with determining how or where to focus effort during investigation. Get your psychic to help act out events they pick up, either by taking on the role of one of the perceived spirits during the re-enactment or the role of the director where they instruct members of the team what to do or say, how to act etc. Much like a film director. I suggest recording this part on video as well as a separate audio track (or even several) for the chance to gather any possible EVPs these era-cues may generate. Of course, keeping all details from your psychic in this instance is also imperative. Extra brownie points for those psychics who can come up with some scenes to act out prior to the investigation where the events can be verified by the investigator team.

5              Many investigations involve haunted items. Clients report items disappearing or moving or otherwise being involved in paranormal activity. You may want to get your psychic to concentrate on those particular items. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on an item like this prior to the investigation, let your psychic sit with it for a while to see if they will pick up on anything that might relate to the origin of the activity around that item. If that is not possible, a photo of the item might suffice. Or even during the investigation, let your psychic spend some time with the item. In this case don't tell them beforehand what the item that was reported have phenomena around it is. Challenge them further by, again, using the easter egg technique. Expect information from your psychic that is not outright obvious about an item. Eg, a shaving brush being used by a male. Restricting information for this challenge is as important as for the ones mentioned before. Extra brownie points to the psychic if they can pick out any easter eggs or if they can provide information of the origins of allegedly haunted items.

Of course keep in mind that experimentation around psychic phenomena has many critics not to even mention the question that is in the most part and for a lot of people is yet to remain solidly unanswered. Is psychic phenomenon real?

I have had many experiences that I can't explain that led me to question and theorise for both for and against the validity of claims of psychic "powers" and mediumship. I never stop questioning and challenging myself in that regard and I look for answers on both ends of the spectrum. Pushing my own limits has become an obsession of sorts and I take great pleasure in guiding others to do the same. 

My Top Tips for Séances

Séances are back in fashion or maybe they have never been out. Social media now makes it so easy to connect with people and communities with similar interests. Whether you are part of an online community or an offline one in the field of paranormal or spiritualism, you may have noticed that séances are starting to come out of the shadows of Penny Dreadful and are being enjoyed once again more widely. This once favourite Victorian past-time activity is enjoying a revival.

If you're not particularly keen on joining a paid event with bunch of people you have never met before  but rather take part in a séance with your friends on a Saturday night, here are some guidelines that will assist you in making the night enjoyable.

Who should I invite?

In my experience the ideal number of people to get around a table for a séance is between four and seven. There really isn't a rule as to minimum or maximum numbers. If you have any friends who have some psychic development under their belt then ask them to come along. It's a great opportunity for them to practice their new skills. If not, then there are plenty of mediums around who will come to your house for a reasonable fee to conduct a séance. Google is your friend in this case but do make sure that you pick someone reputable and experienced in leading séances.

What sort of setting will I need for a séance?

Séances are best conducted in comfortable spaces where all participants can sit around a table (our circle has a round table) and move around as needed. A space that is well ventilated that can be made dark and away from noise is ideal. Pick a time when there will be no other disturbances in the house and there is nowhere to rush off to afterwards. If you're doing this séance in your home, the best time is when all people present in the house during a séance actually participate in it. If that's not possible, ask them to keep noise and movement to a minimum.  Otherwise you and your séance buddies might mistaken their pottering about the house for genuine spirit phenomena.

What other things do I need?

There is no special equipment needed for séances unless you want to get into physical mediumship. If you're just starting out, it's unlikely that you will encounter phenomena that will need special equipment. It's good to have some paper and writing instruments on the table during the séance. We have found in our circle that often information will come through the medium that is worth writing down. The spirit coming through the medium on occasion requested pen and paper to write something down or even draw. Some candles will set the mood with incense though they are not necessary. A low light desk lamp is sufficient. If you're going for candles, use the ones in jars as the chance of spilling is the lowest. If you're using a lamp, try a red bulb, it is easier on the eyes when the room is dark. Some would recommend to put a bowl of water in the middle as a focal point, though I believe that is more tradition than actual necessity. Things like creaky chairs and tables should be avoided for obvious reasons and it's good practice to check for droughts beforehand. When your candle flame moves or you feel a cold breeze across your face, you want to make sure that you are able to discount all natural and obvious explanations.

What if something scary happens?

For séances, the atmosphere builds up over time through repeated sessions in the same place and , ideally, with the same people. It's unlikely that the energies will be very strong if you're only just starting out. If you're more comfortable with someone more seasoned leading the séance then engage a medium.They should have ample experience in dealing with the unexpected. However in the absence of such person, it's good practice to have a plan for any untoward events. Those plans may include things like providing grounding for anyone in need, have access to water to offer to anyone affected, assertively ending the session or saying a prayer if that is deemed to be required. There is one thing you shouldn't do however and that is to upset and disrupt the circle and abruptly leave the room in panic. If you think that you or any of the proposed participants may behave that way, it's best not to attend such an event.

The purpose of the event is to encounter spirit phenomena and that may come in many forms, such as sensation of being touched, voice heard, movements experienced or even channelling. So, don't run away when things start happening. The phenomena are unpredictable and you never know when you shall encounter  them and in what power. You also have to be prepared for not experiencing anything at all.

It's also good practice to document séances either by someone who can act as a scribe, or recording them on voice recorders or even a video camera if that's possible. This is good for several reasons. You may catch a possible EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) on your audio track or if you opted for video, you might record something unusual on the footage that correlates with the audio track or someone's experience during the session. Notes are handy when you have a spirit return to the circle to communicate as you will find that doing repeated and regular session, you will have your regulars and familiars making appearances from The Other Side.

The process of a séance session is a topic for another article as there are many schools of thought and different traditions dictate different rituals.