Psychic mediumship

There are many people across the world who hold an interest in the paranormal. Many are intrigued at the potentially infinite depth of knowledge a medium can muster from a seemingly paranormal source. While the validity of mediumship is still in question, knowing what to look for is particularly helpful when you are assessing whether you are being misled by a medium, or not. A false medium can play on many parts of the human psyche, and they can use the advantages gained by this to gain your approval and trust.

Knowing yourself
When visiting a medium, it is important that you go into the reading knowing what you want to get out of the session. More importantly depending on the type of reading you will be receiving, you should go into the reading knowing what you are like as a person. It is generally accepted within psychology that humans will relate to things that they want to hear, and they may relate to emotions and actions that they think they should feel or do.

Using such techniques, it is possible to tailor apparently personal readings based on a much broader range of statements. This is known as the Forer effect, and is widely used in astrology columns to give the impression of a personal reading. For example, read the following paragraph and see how much you identify with it:

“You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside.

At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.” – P. T. Barnum

Now that you know what you are looking for, it is easy to see how the above text associates with almost everyone. By knowing what the Forer effect is, and going into a reading knowing what to look for, you are more protected from potential hoodwinking.

Recognising errors
A very good indicator of fraud is an evidently high number of errors when partaking in a reading. Unfortunately, the human psyche is much more likely to pick up on correct information rather than incorrect information. Most people go into a reading wanting something positive to come out of it.

This disposition tends to make us forget about all the incorrect information that is given to us. Take for example, the following sentence: “I can see a spirit coming through, he looks like he’s dressed in an old fashioned waistcoat, and he is pointing towards his back with a pipe in his right hand.” There are three potential facts in the above sentence, the spirit is dressed in a waistcoat, the spirit is pointing towards his back and the spirit is carrying a pipe. If the clients father was a pipe smoker, for example, the person will immediately pick up upon the fact that this was presented in the sentence.

This makes the other attributed facts redundant, and thus it is very easy to forget about them and disregard them. When you are in a reading, you should ask yourself after each fact is presented, “Are all of these facts relevant to me? Do they make sense? Do they all relate to the person I’m hoping to contact?” If the answer to these questions is consistently no, you are more than likely dealing with false mediumship.

Fishing for details
This is one of the core processes in cold reading. By preventing this from happening, you can potentially bring a reading to a screeching halt.

Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to do this effectively, unless you know what a cold reader is looking for in advance. A good indication of a false reading, is the medium starting of with a very broad, generic statement. “I can see a man coming through,” or “I see the month of July is important to you.”

These types of questions are so generic and broad spectrum that they apply to almost everybody. The best thing to do in this situation is absolutely nothing. By saying nothing, you are forcing the medium to be more specific in their comments.

Telling the medium that “You have a birthday in July,” or “Your granddad died in July” is the worse thing you can do. Remember, the person you are speaking to claims to be in contact with the spiritual world – they do not need the information clarifying for them. Doing so pushes the cold reading onto its second stage of the process. It is important to remember when going for a reading, not to give too much information.

This may be difficult, especially if you have suffered a recent bereavement or you are seeking a reading in the hope of contacting a loved one. Try to keep yourself as inert as you can – body language can say a thousand words, but I will deal with that later. A cold reader when starting his reading, is looking at first for a reaction or a response. Let us assume from the previous example that the client had told the medium that “My Granddad died in July.” A thing to look out for here is the medium re-affirming the fact that he was correct with obvious statements.

Stating something like “Yes, I see July caused you a lot of pain,” is an obvious statement, yet in the mind of the believer, it is another thing that the medium has picked up upon, and leaves people with a positive impression. The medium will at this point usually continue with another broad range statement. “I can see that your granddad was in pain throughout his life.

He is clutching the top half of his body, as if he is in pain. Now he is rubbing the back of his leg, and has moved up to his hip.” All of this is the medium fishing for information.

They are trying to illicit a response from the client, whether it is verbally or via body language. At this point in time, usually the medium will have struck on a piece of factually correct information, and the client will respond by telling him that “My Granddad died from a heart attack,” or “Yes, he had a hip replacement when he was seventy.” From the believer’s point of view, at this stage in time, the medium has correctly deduced that their Granddad had died in the month of July, and he had problems with his heart or he had been subjected to leg pain or similar.

In reality, the medium actually has not given any direct information so far, but it still appears as if they have. The fact that the client also believes they have, opens them up more and it makes the job of a fake medium a lot easier, as they open up more and respond more to their questions.

The easiest way to deal with this is to simply not respond at all. If the medium really does have your Granddad in the room, then he should be able to tell you exactly how he died, when he died, what his name is etc. Wait for them to give you the information you are looking for. If the medium asks you a question directly, like “When did he die,” try responding with a question like “Why don’t you tell me?” By answering a question with a question, you are dramatically decreasing the chances of being hoodwinked by the medium

Body Language
Body language is another core component of cold reading. An extremely large amount of information can be gathered just by analysing a person’s body language. There are many signs a medium can read, that we may not even be aware of consciously. The types of words we use, the speed and depth of our breathing, dilation or contraction of the pupils, skin colour and general body language.

There are too many to go into in this article, but sufficed to say by controlling our own body language we can dramatically reduce the chances of a cold reader picking up upon this information, and using it to their advantage.

For example, whether consciously aware or not, while a medium is going through their broad range statements, they will watch you for the slightest response to their statements. If they see you flinch, even a small amount, or they see your pupils contract, or your skin blush – they know they are onto a winner.

From an outsider’s point of view, it can appear that the medium has picked up upon this information from a supernatural source, but instead all they have done is watched your reaction to what they are saying and further expanded on the matter when they have seen your reaction. It is extremely difficult to control these subconscious responses, but not impossible.

If you are sat down, place your hands on your knees or under the table, with your shoulders broad. Make eye contact with the medium, but do not stare them out. Try to keep yourself in a conscious frame of mind, similar to when you are expecting something to jump out and scare you in a horror film – just do not make it too obvious.

By thinking about this consciously, you can control the responses that you give to the medium, and you dramatically decrease the mediums chances of a positive hit based on body language. Remember, you are (probably) paying this person for their ability to contact the spiritual world. If they really do hold that ability, they will not need to read your body language to get the information they need.

Another thing to take note of is what else the medium/psychic/tarot reader can tell, just by looking at you. It is often possible to deduce what type of a person someone is by simply looking at his or her clothes, mannerisms, physical appearance, gender, personal hygiene and personal items. All though this may sounds stereotypical, it is relatively effective.

For example, looking at the clothes someone is wearing, along with their jewellery, you can ascertain roughly how wealthy somebody is, whether they are married or not and you can get a good perspective of what that person is like as a whole. Looking at somebody’s skin is usually a good indicator about his or her health. Looking at somebody’s hair, and in men facial hair, you can get an idea about how worried they are at the time.

There are far too many to list here, but protecting yourself against this psychological profiling is extremely hard. The best thing to do is assess what the medium is telling you, and ask yourself whether there is a chance he has extracted this information from your body language or appearance. For example, if the medium tells you you are married, are you wearing a wedding ring?

Conclusion
I hope that the above article has given you a small insight into the mind of a fake medium, and has prepared you in some way for such an encounter. Using the information however is a different thing, so I’ve compiled a ‘top ten ways to protect yourself from and recognise a fake medium’

*Go into the reading knowing what you want out of it, but don’t appear to eager.

*Try to recognise broad statements, as these are a good indicator of fakery.

*Recognise and remember when the medium presents an erroneous statement.

*Ask yourself, “Is this information relevant to me”.

*Do not voluntarily offer any information, and be careful with your sentences and how you word them. When booking the reading, book it in a different name. This prevents the medium from looking up information about you before hand.

*Remember – the person you are most likely paying for this reading claims to be in contact with the spiritual world. Don’t feel guilty about not telling them extended information, if there is a spirit in the room this information should not be needed.

*Do not fall into the trap of answering all of the mediums questions, if they are actually in contact with a spirit, it should not be needed.

*Sit calmly, and comfortably. Put your hands at your sides, and pay attention to your body language, breathing and your overall manner

*Do not over dress or under dress for the occasion. Take off any jewellery and wedding rings before hand.

*Do not be upset if you do not get the information you are looking for out of a reading; remember accurate information is better than fabricated information.







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