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!

When The Bell Rings for Spirit and Other Ghostly Encounters

Some call it a paranormal fix, others call it a ghost tour,  or just what you do on a Saturday night. I spent my Saturday in Picton, considered to be the most haunted town in Australia. The town has a longer history of running tours than I care to remember. The late Liz Vincent had started running hers in the late 90s, bringing tourism and the spot light to this sleepy little town in the Southern Highlands of NSW Australia.

I like a bit of education with my tour and with dinner at the IV George Inn also included, I found myself making a booking for the workshop and investigation event put on by SIGHT - Sydney Investigation Ghost Tours. Who can resists an original sandstone pub, one of Australia's oldest and still operating inns, built in 1839?

The workshop was an overview of the most popular topics in the paranormal, peppered with a gamut of compelling personal accounts from the team. With a combined experience of several decades, it's fair to say they have encountered things many won't during their stint in the paranormal.

It wasn't surprising at all when an impatient spirit made sure he was noticed in the middle of a talk as he made his presence known to my companion, Sharon. Boy, was he persistent? Being experienced enough with those from The Other Side who just won't take no for an answer, Sharon was a good sport and took some time out to hear out this guy. An unsavoury personality, the man was not your Casper the friendly ghost type but we dealt with him with no fuss, as we do, and with no disruption to the rest of the guests at the event. It wasn't long before he moved on to SIGHT medium Dannie for a bit of a twirl. We noted all information down as a habit, just in case it will come handy later on in the night.

After a plentiful dinner and some great conversation we have made out way over to the Wollondilly Shire Hall where the rest of the night was to unfold. We heard about the history of the place as well as personal accounts of people who have had spirit encounters at the Hall followed by respect and welcome of the traditional custodians of the land by the tour operators.

Freetime ensued, my favourite, where we could freely roam the Hall, well almost, as the one place I really wanted to go to, behind the stage curtain, was off limits. Nevermind that, Sharon and I proceeded to bring out our Konxari cards, a much loved tool in our circle, to initiate communication with The Other Side. We threw in a KII meter for good measure to see if we can catch some EMF fluctuation while having our Konxari session. We found a place that was relatively quiet for EMF and made sure our phones were not interfering with it either and laid the cards out. For the sake of privacy I will not disclose the information we were working with in greater detail but here is the first sheet we did.

The KII did not indicate any fluctuation at all until we hit on a particular piece of information that indicated that there was a new player in the game, namely another person in spirit we needed to connect with. We moved our gear over to the part of the stage that was accessible and laid out a new sheet of the Konxari, again using the KII to indicate any fluctuation in EMF. Below is the photo of the sheet for the second session.

The device didn't indicate anything and we were about to call the session quits when I made my own spirit connection. My left side was being affected and I went into a semi-trance state to connect better with the energy that was communicating with me now. Sharon grabbed the notebook habitually and started writing information I was bringing through. She even thought of moving the KII to my left shoulder and interestingly enough it gave a positive reading. Sharon also checked around me for EMF, including the right shoulder which gave a zero reading in EMF. While that is not conclusive of anything, the phenomenon is no doubt interesting as it correlated with me connecting with spirit on my left hand side.

The communication only lasted for a few minutes but both Sharon and I knew that there was more work to be done so, as usual we invited the female spirit back to our circle to work with us. This is what we do.

As a side note to this, while I'm writing this blog something incredible just happened. The bell we use for our circle to ring in the spirits before each session has just rang three times in the temple. Just like we/I do it before inviting spirits to work with us. As the temple is a closed space (a separate structure from our house) and one we don't use for anything else other than circle work, there is no conventional explanation for it. Of course we went out to investigate immediately and found nothing but the pendulum in the bell vibrating irregularly. I think the message was clear. 

The tour was run by SIGHT - Sydney Investigation Ghost Tours

5 Easy and Practical Ways to Ground Yourself and Others During Investigations

What is this grounding I speak of? Is this a mystical term only known in the psychic realms? The short answer is, no. It's an exercise that helps you by bringing your mind and your body back into alignment with eachother. Ever been to a party where you just couldn't help but being caught up in the atmosphere, even after it was over? Maybe a sports event where the high of your team winning and the crowd roaring and cheering is still giving you a buzz long after the stadium lights are off? Well, this is where your body is so caught up in a form of vibration that is not its normal state that it finds it difficult to connect with your mind as normal. You might feel light headed, heavy, like swimming in mud or even nauseous, with murky thoughts and in general not being yourself. All in all, you don't want to be sitting in dark, dank buildings in this state and you definitely don't want to get into your car to drive home after a night of intense investigation.

Here are some ideas on what to do when you notice that either you or someone else in your company is "off with the fairies" as I say.

1. You can take the term "grounding" very literally. Having as much bodily contact with the ground as possible is an excellent way to get grounded. Go outside and lie down on the ground. If not possible to go outside, just get onto the ground where you are. For maximum effect, turn the palms of your hand downward. Visualise a flow of energy  from your body down into the earth until you feel like you're back to your normal self. Get up very slowly. First just sit up for a few minutes, then get slowly back onto your feet. If you can't lie down, just sit on the ground and focus on the contact point between the floor and the base of your spine. Use it as an energy highway to ground any excess and unwanted energy.
2. Another excellent way to get back into your body, and this works wonderfully after séances, trance sessions or even lone vigils, is to have a list of information you recite. This allows your thoughts to come back to the present and your everyday being. This list can comprise of simple things such as your full name, address, names of children or friends, your car's number plate, your favourite movies, basically anything that relates your day to day life. If you're helping to ground someone else with this method, just ask them open ended questions about themselves that require simple and routine replies. Eg. list five things in your wallet right now, what do you have in your toolbox, what is your favourite TV show etc. If they have trouble answering those questions, it may very well be an indicator that they are not "fully back" to themselves and further grounding is needed.
3. For those who are into crystal, I can recommend using stones such as black tourmaline, clear or smokey quartz or even hematite or citrine. You should carry at least a few of these in your kit as people may react differently to each stone. I must admit I am somewhat partial to black tourmaline and I find it works best for me. I keep it in my kit away from sunlight and moisture and pop it into my pocket or bra for use during situations when I need some extra oomph with grounding.
4. A much more mundane however sometimes inconvenient way to ground is to sit down for a meal. Digestion and the unavoidable social interaction that comes with eating is a good way to bring the energy down and somewhat force the mind back into alignment with the physical body. Best to avoid foods with any sort of stimulant such as caffeine, sugar or alcohol as they will have a counter-effect to what you want to achieve in the first place. Lots of water during investigations is always a good idea to keep up your electrolytes. You'll thank me for that the day after any investigation. Trust me, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.
5. And last but not least, if you can, do some physical exercise. Even brisk walking will do the trick if done long enough. Stop for a few minutes during investigations when you feel like your loosing your connection and have the symptoms described in the first paragraph. Play a game with your team that will require some physical exertion, laugh, move your body, even if just a little. Remember to hydrate well during and after.

As always, observe safety while investigating and use common sense when deciding whether to continue an investigation or not. Safety first, be it psychic or physical. Happy hunting folks!