Medium anecdotes and more...
I like a lot of what Sylvia Browne does, but some of it (info from her guide, Francine, for instance) I find suspect. I think she's truly a psychic, but I'm not sure I believe in her channeling all that info about the afterlife and the soul's journey. We have a contract while we're here to know only so much, so we can go thru our lessons properly, so anyone who claims to have all the answers... hmmm... makes me say hmmmm! :) But I could be wrong, because I went to a Kryon meeting and verified that channeling was real. At the end of every session, Kryon sends energy that we can "see" and someone saw the energy the exact same way I did. There were enough differences and similarities that I doubt it was group hypnosis or group ESP.
"psychic" ability just means communicating without using the standard five-senses form methods of communicating. since not every intelligent being has a physical body or means to verbalize, you have to assume there's a non-vocal non-sighted way of communicating, and chances are good that we can do it while in physical form. The thought-forms hit our electrical system, nervous system, and get translated into vocabulary or images best we can. but like anything else, if you don't use it, exercise it, you won't know it's there.
The last time I worked as a professional Tarot reader, that was when I discovered I could do it. It was SOOOO fun, but then it got old because I couldn't do more than verify that the person was who they were and acknowledge that.
People who had recently died were much better at communication. Suicides were often simply "not there." Sylvia says that suicides often have broken their contract and must start all over, that suicide is only "okay" if you're terminally ill. All I know is I was never able to channel one.
My favorite session was with a client who had lost her father 3 months prior. As soon as she mentioned the death I said, without thinking - sometimes the message seems to just bypass my conscious brain and come right out my mouth - "has your bed been moving?"
"Yes! I haven't been able to sleep on it. I've been sleeping on the couch." Her Dad was shaking it.
Then I got this very intense mental image of a Hibiscus flower. It came at me positively dripping red, and then turned sideways. I asked her, "Tell me why I'm seeing a hibiscus flower, and it's turned this way rather than face forward."
"My Dad always wore Hawaian shirts and his favorite one had a huge hibiscus flower coming up from the side."
It still amazes me how clearly I got that image.
I use Flower Essences and several practioners have used them to help "ghosts" stuck here complete their journey to the other side by offering them the healing they require. They use Nature Intelligences and kinesiology to get answers, and put the appropriate essences in a spoon or bowl. Those are some fun stories! :)