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. 

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

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.

Top Tips For Making The Most Of Your Next Ghost Tour

There isn't a town nowadays that doesn't offer a ghost tour or two or at least a historic walk. Even I have been known to pop in a tour with my friends once in a while. If you're a serial ghost tourist, you probably wonder what new those tours can offer once you have been to so many of them.

Apart from the spooky stories and the obvious history component there are things you can do to spice things up a little, not only for yourself but for your companions too, especially if you're lucky enough to be attending with your mates instead of a partner who just tagged along to keep the peace and would rather spend the night watching cat videos on their phone than participate.

Here are some tips to make the most of your time on the tour.

1              Listen to the history. I mean, really listen to it. Those stories not only contain anecdotes of ghost sightings and gruesome events but also little morsels of important history of the country you live in. The historic buildings that you normally would just walk by without a second glance are places where pivotal events may have taken place. Many tours pay a particular attention to the historical component of their event and you will hear about local legends, intrigue and mystery.

2              Take a moment to imagine yourself being a part of history. What it must have been like to live in the particular era the building or site is from? Having a great imagination is a very important stepping stone to your psychic senses as it disengages us from our logical mind and allows us to perceive information that is not immediately visible and makes sense.

3              Participate in the activities, don't be a bystander. Tours offer activities such as staying in a cell on your own at gaols for lone vigils, partake in dress up re-enactments, have access to basic equipment such as cameras, voice recorders, EMF meters and the like. Don't be shy!

4              If you're not into dress ups or equipment, you can cut your teeth on some psychic development. Even if you don't encounter any active spirits on the night, residual energy and psychic imprints are easy enough to pick up by just about anyone. Whether old or fairly new, they are a good opportunity to get some hands on experience. Most tours would be familiar with psychic phenomena and will be able to guide you in your experience. Pay special attention to your emotions and your thoughts as they will be your psychic indicators. Voice what you feel whether you think it's relevant to the location or not as you will find that often the history of a site is more complex than it appears.

5              Last but not least, don't pay attention to those who treat those tours as a distraction. Rowdy and inconsiderate guests can ruin it for the rest of the tour group. Most operators will deal with them swiftly and decisively. If you feel uncomfortable by any other guest/s just let the tour operator know. Chances are that other feel the same way. People who don't take ghost tours as seriously as you do still buy tickets and think that their attitude and behaviour is somehow warranted and OK. You just go and do your psychic "thang", regardless.

Sydney as well as other capital cities in Australia have an abundance of great tours available to cater for all ghosty tastes so next time you're here, make sure that you book yourself and your friends tickets to at least one of them. Enjoy!

The Naked Medium

By Andrea Kaldy

I love Jamie Oliver! I have for a long time. Ever since this fresh-faced Brit took TV by storm back in Y2K and revolutionised cooking for millions (I'm pretty sure) of devotees with his simple, back to basics style of cooking. I knew that it was that simple, uncomplicated and utterly transparent way of handling food that got me from the start and kept me watching his shows religiously. The Naked Chef, his first show was aptly named. In the intro you can hear him saying, "it's not me, it's the food!". I have to admit, the first time I had encountered the show title, without knowing what it was about, I marked it on Foxtel to make sure I wouldn't miss it. Who wouldn't want to watch a hot young chef standing behind a kitchen counter, cooking food on TV … naked. Ok, ok , I know it's not a visage for everyone to picture …

You can imagine my surprise when the show wasn't what I thought it was going to be. No bare butts, no strategically placed kitchen items, no misty camera shots or clever angles. Anyway, this is not an ode to the Naked Chef or any sort of cooking show in fact. This article is about the Naked Medium. You can be forgiven if you're now conjuring up pictures in your mind of attractive young women running around in dark buildings, talking to the dead while naked. You couldn't be further from the truth! As lucrative as it sounds for a paranormal reality show pitch, it's really not the idea I was going for. By naked, I mean using nothing but the simplest, most transparent methods of communicating with the dead.

I see many psychics, mediums, chanellers (for the purpose of this article I will call them communicators) pulling out all sorts of paraphernalia when contacting the dead. From crystal balls to crystal grids, to complicated symbols, amulets, cards, and who know what else. My personal favourite is the all purpose carry on spirit guide that is constantly on the ready like an eager genie in a bottle to pop up on request to dispense advice (often unsolicited) to others or produce vague though seemingly relevant information and even be an intermediary between the communicators and the dead. Many a time I breathed a sigh in exasperation as I was reading about, listening to or watching such practices being carried out, especially in the paranormal, my chosen field of mediumship.

I observed students of mediumship starting to use those "tools" as they were expanding on their communication skills. But as everything, even mediumship has a natural way of evolving and some students do well allowing for that natural process to take place and eventually they let go of those crutches while some never do.

Any intuitive work, including mediumship is firmly based on trusting oneself and that trust, like a kind of compass, is based on the fine calibration of the very few, simple parts that make it up and its accuracy in showing information is closely dependent on the skills of the one who uses it. In fact, there are things that may interfere with the accuracy of the instrument and can lead to misdirection. Our internal compass we use for communicating with the Other Side or gather information via psychic channels is the same. If we are not careful, our finely tuned and precision instrument can lead us astray and we can get bogged down in shallow, in essence meaningless and distracting details.

For many, their skills never go passed this point and their lack of confidence in their own compass, accompanied by fear means they will forever rely on external factors to aide them in their work. I never understood the need for those things when I knew that direct communication with the dead can be achieved. It's a lot of work and it requires commitment but what it requires the most of is the willingness to take full and complete responsibility for what comes out one's mouth when working as a communicator. "Spirit told me", or "my guide/angel/ascended master told me to tell you" etc seems  nothing more than a complacent passing off of the responsibility for the information that a communicator is producing. 

What this field needs in my view is full accountability and transparency from communicators. Clarity of process as well as language that doesn't rely on any occult, spiritual or religious mumbojumbo and affords easy understanding to anyone without the extended need to delve into complicated, obsolete and obscure practices that are more ritualistic and obscure to the observer.

Strip down your mediumship and look at what you are using and relying on that has no real value in the communication process. Things that you have become accustomed to in a habitual way. There is no reason why we shouldn't be able to contact the dead directly and I encourage all seekers on this path to have the courage to leave behind the crutches, go beyond the fear of having to take sole and complete responsibility for your communication and enjoy the confidence it eventually brings in your ability as a communicator. The rewards are worth it because you will be able to experience the contact between this world and the next in a deeper  and much more direct way. Get naked in your communications,  all you need to talk to the other side is you! Simple, uncomplicated, transparent building blocks of pure skill. Just that.

5 Things Your Psychic Development Teacher Hasn't Taught You About Trance Mediumship - Part 1/5

 

When I made a more serious commitment to my psychic development back in 2006, sitting in a circle of beginners week after week, I started from the same level as everyone else. It wasn't long before it became obvious to me that my development was to be somewhat off the beaten track. I soon began to experience physical changes in my body during the meditation that introduced each session. While my circle peers have come out of meditation with recounts of meeting guides, angels and loved ones who have passed and the like, my experiences were mostly of images of people and energies that didn't seem to fit into any of those categories. I often kept those to myself, fearing that I was being left behind in the development or that there was something wrong with me and guides didn't find me worthy of communicating with.

When I mentioned some of what I was going through during those meditations to my teacher at the time, I was told that I needed to ignore what was happening as this was a beginners class and what I was doing  sounded like trance mediumship and that didn't fit the curriculum. I considered the advice reluctantly but decided to listen to my teacher who had a decade of experience with mediumship by that time. Unable to get instruction on how exactly that could be done, I had to find my own way through the experiences I was having, not knowing at the time, that very process will give me the knowhow to assist people going through the same rites of passage in my own circles years later.

It is my view that people who embark on the road to psychic development and mediumship will have as many different paths of getting there as there are reason for them stepping on it. Therefore the way they learn will be different and the utilisation of this skill and ability will be different as well. That is completely OK! People shouldn't feel that they need to fit the mould their teacher picked out for them, especially that this form of development is very deeply personal for many who participate in it.

In this article I write about some of the knowledge that I wished was passed down to me from some of my teachers about trancemediumship. I hope that there are those out there who will read this and will recognise the learning opportunity and will go forward with their individual psychic development without fear of judgement and with the knowledge that what they are experiencing is real. The below are all based on my personal experiences as a student, teacher and practitioner of trancemediumship. We are all individuals however so you might have a different experience and that is perfectly fine.

Physical Effects of Trancing

• Sudden change in heart rate. This has been happening to me since the very beginning. One moment my heart was beating fine, the next it was almost jumping out of my chest. Very scary to experience it if you don’t know what is going on. It used to last for minutes while I was fighting what was happening to my body and used to exhaust me. It took me about a year of practicing to get it under control. The secret for me was to stop fighting within my body and try to slow my heart down by shear will. I realised that it was just a temporary bodily reaction and the more I let it flow through my body, the easier and quicker it passed.
• Unable to move body. The entry into a trance state is via meditation and the brain goes into an altered state. This, as well as the heart rate change is a temporary condition and passes the same way. As scary as this also is in an in between state, while you're still aware of what you are doing and where you are, if you suddenly want to move your arm for example, you may have some difficulty as your brain is busy putting your body in a relaxed state so that you can get on with your meditation. This was also something I had to learn to overcome myself. What works best for me is that imagine that I am inside my body but am very small, in the centre and I am wearing my physical body as a suit. If I move my tiny body inside the suit then I am able to move the corresponding part of my physical body. This takes some practice too.
• The Fall. This is a sensation that I feel directly before trance state sets in and soon after the above two that I mentioned. I call it The Fall as not matter what position I am in, standing, sitting, reclining, I have the sensation of plummeting down in a never ending 3 dimensional space, rotating in all directions. This too was something I was trying to fight at the beginning of my trance mediumship development. Sometimes I would come out of it by jolting myself awake from this state. I would sit in my chair completely stunned and unable to move, with my heart racing, almost as if the jolt would take me back through the stages of trance within seconds and my body felt like it was going to tear apart. It took me awhile to not get freaked out by the physical sensation of falling. What helped me was the affirmation just before it was happening that I was in a safe place and it too just had to pass.

~End of Part 1/5~

5 Easy Ways to Practice Your Paranormal Mediumship In the Field

Paranormal Investigators Series

 

How does paranormal mediumship differ from stage mediumship? What special skills and experience would someone need if they want to get into paranormal investigations? Allow me to share with you some of my experience of working in the field as a paranormal medium.



 

1.       Get someone else to pick a spot on a map for you. Preferably not a well known location but not in the middle of a desert or a jungle either. Somewhere where there are recognisable structures or landscape that can be verified. Can even use a different state or country. Meditate on the location and take note of any features (sights, sounds, smells etc) that you experience. Visit the location after this exercise if you can and take your notes along to compare. Take photos if you can, bearing in mind any privacy issues with private property and individuals. If you are not able to visit the place, just hop on Google Maps and check it out. This exercise will help with your remote viewing skills.

 

2.       While at investigations, can be indoors or outdoors, spend some time absorbing the location. Here is a little exercise you may find useful. Pick a place where you can connect with the location by yourself.  Make sure you are safe, of course. Centre and ground before you continue. Use some music from your mp3 player if you like. Imagine that you project hundreds of little strands of energy tentacles from your body. They stroke the floor, the walls, the objects around you. Let them feed any information back to you. You can do this with just one room or a whole building or only with individual objects where touching is them is not possible for whatever reason. This exercise will help with your extra-sensory perception.

3.       Some locations, by their purpose built nature will give away their nature. Popular places for paranormal investigators are asylums, hospitals, prisons etc. There are very obvious types of information that can be derived just by knowing the purpose of the building that do not require any special psychic or mediumistic skills. While we do pick up on these types of information, we, as field investigators cannot stop at just that. You don't have to be psychic to feel a criminal personality while investigating dank cells of prison blocks. It would be easy to just stop at that level. However as field mediums you want to strive for a lot more. Locations have many levels of activity, let's not limit yourself to describing and only connecting with the purpose of a structure. There are many many human stories to be derived and told. To help achieve that, you should write down your physical observations before you start your spirit connection, just to get that out of the way. It will also help deciphering later on what was actual psychic/spirit information and what was obvious observation.  This will help with strengthening your ability to be critical of your own work and make a distinction between intellectually received information and psychic information

 

4.       Get someone to film you (cheap handycams are easily accessible nowadays) or if that's not possible, take a voice recorder with you and record your findings. Talk about what you experience, not just psychically but physically as well. Look back on the recording after your investigation as you may find information you received that didn't seem relevant beforehand but gained importance and relevance after and in light of the investigation. This will help you to see where your strengths are as well as allow you to make observation on your accuracy. Who doesn't want to give themselves little brownie points for good information produced psychically?

 

5.       There is no need to have your medium hat on for hours on end during an investigation or even if you are out and about alone, doing field work. Make sure you give yourself a break and ground every once in a while. Mix with the team of people you're with, have something to eat, listen to some music, participate in other experiments and activities that don't require your psychic skills. This will give you an opportunity to learn more about team work and how investigations work from a non-psychic point of view. Being a more integral part of a team and learning other skills means that, just like other participants, you can utilise multiple skills and learn how to better incorporate your mediumship with other areas of research.

These are only some basic tips but will highlight the differences between stage mediumship and field mediumship. If your passion is to work as a paranormal medium and want to know how to make the switch, the above is a good way to start. Enjoy and grow! Oh and always have latex gloves and hand sanitiser handy in your kit! Trust me on that one.

To Ouija or Not to Ouija

Much controversy surrounds the use of psychic/ouija boards in spiritual and paranormal circles. Instead of debating its perceived (or not) hazards or even validity and usefulness, here are some suggestions to try while using it. I have carried out all of the below experiments with various results. As much as I get annoyed when people publish research they have done but without having the gumption to add their own conclusion, I have to admit that while I have encountered some astounding results on occasion, the jury is still out for me due to lack of hard evidence on this tool. So here we go, try some or all of the suggestions by themselves or in combination with eachother and see how you go. I would suggest this to those who have at least some experience using this tool. 

1) use it at a location that is not known or considered to be haunted

2) have all the participants blindfolded

3) turn the board face down

4) have a designated person who isn't touching the board to ask the questions

5) ask open ended questions that require a reply with which the rest of the participants are not familiar with

6) utilize the knowledge of a person in the circle who speaks a foreign language

7) use a voice recorder to record the session and listen back later for possible EVPs

8) get everyone to write names of people they might like to contact during a particular session on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope without showing anyone else in the circle

9) nominate someone to be the scribe and jot down all questions and any responses that are presented on the board, this person can also move around the location in case instructions come through while using the board 

10) use two boards at the same time at the same location 

No Fluff Paranormal Mediumship

There are many types of spirits I have encountered during my years of being in the paranormal field. From the cheeky to the sad, the impostor to the flaky. I found that to get the most out of a communication it's best to match the energy of the spirit that I am interacting with. Similarly, if I want to make contact with a particular entity, I adjust my approach to the vibration of the one I want to connect with.

It was the case last Saturday when the plan was to contact an entity at a location that we have been investigating since 2007. I knew its energy and I knew its tactic so the communication and language I used was commensurate to that. This is something primordial, something dense and heavy, and in my mediumship experience barely human . A collection of lingering energies perhaps, it has amazed us time and time again before with its intensity and uncanning ability to connect with and draw out the darkness from within those it chooses to encounter.

I raised my voice while attempting to awaken it and we could feel the energy rising and the atmosphere changing. Our chosen primary instrument for communication this time was a talking board, a tool we have  used many times before. I was leading the séance, so to adhere to protocol I didn't have my hand on the planchette but was standing by. Without debating the pros and cons or the validity of this method in this article I'd like to write about what had happened.

After some general information being conveyed via the board, the tone changed and became threatening. Phrases of "heathen go to hell", "burn in hell heathen" and "get f&*#ed" were thrown around, we knew we weren't dealing with the elemental type entity we were aiming for. This was human. We let the tirade continue for a short time while I was assessing the situation and where to go next with this session. There were a number of people in the team that were working with us at the time that are pagan and follow the Old Ways of Witchcraft, including myself so the remark of "heathen" was not a surprise. We decided to play the religion card, as it were, and went back with equal force. We questioned the state and belief of the one who was communicating with us through the board and we did that aggressively. It was spewing hate at us and we were not going to just take it with love and light. If it was a living person we would have done the same, so didn't see why we would have to treat this one any different.

Now, in a decent paranormal movie, this is the point where objects start to fly and someone starts talking with the voice of the Devil while talking board catches fire and people fall to the ground in fits. You will be able to see in one of the episodes of In Tenebris what happened. Let me just say that the "throw some love at it" approach is the weakest argument and doesn't stand up as it doesn't stand up real life either. I don't believe in turning the other cheek. I don't believe in worshipping the dead as if they had some sort of magickal power. I believe that there are those who are decent human beings and they remain so once they pass to the Other Side. At the same time though I believe that there are bigots and egotists that remain that way even after death. I don't believe in sending spirits to the light with force and I don't believe people change into enlightened and almighty holy beings as soon as they die. I do, however believe in personal responsibility and accountability on this side as well as the Other Side and if anyone from the spiritworld is as judgemental as the one we have encountered as above they should be met with an equal force of reckoning and accountability from me and my team. "Calling out" I believe the term is. There are enough wishy washy people around who preach love to all on the surface but deep down are hateful and false. Dealing with them is the same as dealing with those types of spirits in the spiritworld. Facing them head on and with equal force to expose their hate and falseness. I found that with this approach either one of two things happen. One, they pull their heads in and realise that at the soul level we are all equal or two, they continue with their hate even more. Why that is, I don't know. One things is for sure though, I haven't encountered any fire and brimstones yet.