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How To Become a Medium

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PSYCHIC HELP
How to Become a Medium

In this section psychic medium Craig helps you how to discover your latent potential and how to become a medium or psychic. Now published in book form, these techniques have become the basis for his best selling self help books. The methods are also used in Spiritualist circles and for online mediumistic development. Below you can read a few extracts that help you to develop your psychic skills and eventually show you how to become a medium.

This is an extract from Craig Hamilton-Parker's books Opening to the Other Side about Becoming a Medium. The book is available from the links on the right of this screen.

BECOMING A MEDIUM
The human qualities needed for mediumship

Craig How to Articles We have already established that it is important to have patience when developing your gifts and to recognise that the path requires the spiritual qualities of integrity, morality and compassion. You may also have experienced suffering in your personal life so will have an empathy with others. Given that you have these qualities and also a latent gift then, with work, your powers may begin to unfold. This will not happen all at once but over a period of time. Sometimes you will make great strides and surge ahead very quickly but at others the path may seem steep and slow. But it is all part of the same journey. Keep going and never loose faith in yourself.

Faith in yourself is vitally important in the success of any enterprise. An entrepreneurial businessman has faith in himself but as success comes to him may grow to become arrogant and self centred. It is sad to see self-confidence turn to arrogance for instead of receiving the admiration of others the person will only receive our scorn. These are clearly not the qualities you would expect to find in a medium and yet it is an endemic problem.

To prevent an arrogant lop sided approach we need to temper our self-confidence with modesty. If we can do this right from the start then our mediumship will grow to become both accurate and spiritual. Too many fall to what in Greek Tragedy is called the hubris, that is overbearing pride, presumption and arrogance that eventually results in disastrous situations. In mythology the hero often falls at the last hurdle because of his pride. Hubris is defiance; arrogance and thinking you can outsmart the gods. Oedipus refused to believe that he had killed his father and married his mother; Creon insisted on leaving the body of Polyneices to rot in the fields and it was Hubris when the crew of Odysseus slaughtered the sacred cattle of the sun god.

It is the same with inner work. The would be medium must fathom his unconscious to discover his intuitive self and even though personal spiritual treasures will be discovered it is vitally important to remember that the powers that come are not ours: they are on loan from God. Tell people what a brilliant medium you are to instill self-confidence, even brag in a humorous way about being so fabulous but in your heart remain humble. Self-righteous modesty is also arrogance. Have fun and joke about your gift but deep down be humble. Take yourself too seriously and you are lost. People will praise you, idealise you even, but always remember that we are the servants. It is our honour to do this work. It is we who should be grateful.

Craig reading for skeptic Nick Knowles

BECOMING A MEDIUM
Measuring Psychic & Mediumistic gifts

The American researcher Joseph Banks Rhine is considered the father of serious scientific research into the paranormal. In the 1930's at Duke University in California he undertook the first systematic study of the subject and used statistics to quantify his exhaustive tests. Together with his colleague Carl Zener he designed a set of colourful cards of geometric symbols that were used in various card-guessing quizzes. His conclusion was that many people were achieving correct guesses that were far above what you'd expect from chance alone. They were receiving information from something other than the known five senses.

Rhine defined this sixth sense as 'Extra Sensory Perception' and subdivided it into four basic abilities:

TELEPATHY: the ability to 'tune in' to the thoughts of others, or to inject your own thoughts into another's mind

CLAIRVOYANCE: the power to see things that aren't available to you by the known senses and which aren't known by anyone else

PRECOGNITION: the skill of looking into the future and seeing events before they take place, often through the subconscious when dreaming.

PSYCHOKINESIS: the ability to use the power of the mind to influence matter- to move objects by thought, for example.

HOW TO BECOME A MEDIUM
Personality Traits of Mediums

Parapsychologists have shown that psychic and mediumistic people share certain qualities and this may account for why some people are more psychic than others:

Personality: Psychic people are usually extroverts. Tests with guessing the turn of random Zener cards have shown that outgoing people score better results in tests than somber, reflective types. Psychic researcher Betty Humphrey from Duke University, USA discovered that extrovert personalities displayed better ESP abilities than introverts. Psychics and mediums are also usually cheerful people. In 1977 researcher John Palmer examined every single published experiment on neuroticism and ESP. He demonstrated that highly neurotic people were poor ESP subjects and optimists scored better results.

It has also been found that psychics and mediums like to take risks. It has been shown that gamblers and risk takers display higher ESP abilities. Some may also be able to influence the fall of dice by psychokinesis.

Sensitivity: Psychic and mediumistic people are usually extremely sensitive individuals and will often be influenced by other people’s moods. You may be able to tell if someone is in a bad mood before you see their face.

Psychic and mediumistic powers appear to also work best when the people working together like one another- or better still love one another. A telepathic bond has been proved to be particularly strong between parents and young siblings. Experiments show that a mother's heartbeat increases when her baby wakes and cries- even if it's put in a soundproof room or is at another location

Creativity: A large proportion of psychic and mediumistic people come from artistic backgrounds. I was an artist for many years and many of my mediumistic friends have an artistic gift. Some can even draw portraits of the spirit people they see. Some researchers believe that psychics and mediums, like artists, use the right hand side of their brain- the side that’s responsible for intuition. Imaginative, creative people, and particularly artists, score better in ESP tests than systematic thinkers.

Many psychic people can visually project imagined images into random shapes. Scrying, sand reading and tea leaf reading all employ this technique.

Dreams: Psychic and mediumistic people will often have lucid dreams- dreams that are very vivid in which you are conscious while the dream is taking place. Dreams connect us to the unconscious mind and its psychic intuition. Psychic experiences are most likely to happen when the mind and body are relaxed and receptive. Measurements of brain waves indicate that a person who is dreaming or meditating emits similar wave patterns to a psychic who is demonstrating his skills. (Physicist Julian D. Isaacs from John F. Kennedy University, Orinda, California, researched brain waves by mapping them as the subject was demonstrating ESP such as while bending spoons using psychokinesis.)

Many of people first ESP experiences happen in dreams and I have written book about this ‘Psychic Dreaming’. In dreams we may see the future or the distant past. We may meet our friends talk to the dead and sometimes have the clairvoyant ability to psychically perceive distant locations - dubbed 'remote viewing' by the CIA who employed psychics to spy on Soviet installations during the Cold War

Perceptions: It has been suggested that the pineal gland that is about as the size of a pea and lies in the centre of the brain may have something to do with our clairvoyant ability. It has been argued that it is the ancient remnants of a reptilian eye left over from the time of the dinosaurs and as it is in a direct horizontal line with the centre of the forehead may therefore be the ‘third eye’ spoken about in mysticism. (In the Western Fence Lizard (S. occidentalis) the pineal and the parietal third eye are connected by means of the parietal nerve- the lizard has a rudimentary eye coming out the top of its head and connected to the pineal gland.) Ancient Greeks believed the pineal gland to be our connection to the ‘Realms of Thought’. Descartes called it the ‘Seat of the Soul’.

Scientists have discovered that a chemical called Serotonin is disrupted in the pineal gland when a person takes drugs such as mescaline or LSD. The gland is believed to be significant in the mystical experiences claimed to be triggered by hallucinogenic drugs. As the pineal third eye is related to seeing light it may in fact be the source of the ‘inner light’ of the mystical experience and the altered perceptions- such as seeing the aura- that are experienced by psychic people.

FUNNY MEDIUMSHIP:
Psychic and Mediumistic Eccentrics

All of the above may help scientists to form a profile of psychic and mediumistic people but certainly not all mediums are highly sensitive extrovert artists with eyes like lizards. If you know any mediums personally you will appreciate that it takes all sorts to make the psychic world. Mediums such as John Edward, Van Praagh and Jane and myself who work with the media are very polished with our presentation and this can sometimes mask the quirkiness of our nature. I love the eccentricity of many mediums and within Spiritualism you will meet some extraordinary and adorable personalities who would probably horrify most Television producers!

So if you do not completely conform to the personality traits described above, don’t worry. It takes all sorts. I have seen mediums who have a habit of spitting their false teeth out half way through a message, others that shout in such a loud voice that it makes you jump, another that would take her wig off without warning and some that get their words so mixed up that the double-entendres are hugely embarrassing. I particularly love the way mediums get their words mixed up when they are so engrossed in their mediumship. My wife Jane has dropped some wonderful clangers and spoonerisms. I’ve caught her saying things like ‘Decapitated Coffee’, ‘Bitten to death my midgets’ and my personal favourite was a reference she made to the movie ‘Jason and the Juggernauts’. (I won’t mention my own gaffs while demonstrating.)

Another classic that still makes me giggle was a message given by Doris Smith, an ex-member of the Salvation Army and the mediumistic sister of Vi Kipling from my online school. During her demonstration Doris gives proof from the rostrum saying, “I have a butcher with me in spirit. I know he’s a butcher because he is holding his chopper in his hand and it is a big one!

BECOMING A MEDIUM
What does a medium do?

I have already written about what differentiates is a medium and a psychic but I want to add emphasis by briefly explaining exactly what a medium. Many people call themselves mediums but are in reality psychics. There is a great deal of misconception about these things.

We give proof:
A medium gives proof of survival of the personality after death. We demonstrate that not only does the life essence continue but also that memory persists as well as the self-awareness – the sense of being who we are. The information mediumship provides may bring comfort to the bereaved and help them to move forward. Some describe this process as a form of soul healing. Sometimes other healing gifts will accompany the awakening mediumistic gifts.

We are a link between the worlds:
This has sometimes been described as being like a telephonist who makes the call then relays the information received to the person on the other end of the line. The quality of the line can vary as occasionally and may ‘crackle’ if inappropriate conditions or negative thoughts from participants break the ‘signal’. We are intermediaries working in a spirit of service and not the possessor of spiritual power.

We connect to a higher philosophy:
With the help of our spirit guides and helpers we can share in the wonderful philosophy given to us from the next world. Before we can give evidential spirit messages we must first know how to link through meditation to the spirit within and so understand the perennial philosophy of compassion. The spirit guides may eventually be able to channel philosophy through a medium by means of inspired talks and trance. If the medium has creative talents such as writing, music and artistic skills then these may be used in spirit communication.

We enable spiritual growth:
Mediumship and the knowledge it brings will probably inspire us to become better people ourselves. We may allow our intuition to integrate with our reason, become more sensitive and tolerant and be willing to learn from many sources. Our knowledge and gift will inspire others to make the best of their life. A good medium will feel the need to keep pushing his mediumship forward and will continually want to learn more.

We help one another to discover God:
Mediumship is a specialist spiritual gift that proves the existence of an afterlife. Mediumship implies that there is a God but does not necessarily prove the existence of God. Some mediums believe in a personal God and may follow traditional faiths including Christianity whereas others may believe God to be the omnipresent force of love. My experience of the philosophy given from spirit encourages me to look at the ways religions are similar rather than ways in which they differ they differ. In all of them are echoes of a universal religion that transcends race, creed and dogma.

A MEDIUMSHIP EXPERIMENT TO TRY:
Creative Visualisation: Imagine being a medium.

Successful sports people are those who can ‘see’ themselves winning. Psychologists believe that this ability to visualise a goal actually changes the physical structure of the brain and builds initial learning pathways that make achieving the goal easier Visualisation creates the first tentative connections between the neurons of the brain that eventually become the well trodden pathways of learned habit.

In the next chapters I will be giving you specific techniques that will enable you to develop your psychic and mediumistic powers. Just like a successful sportspersons who ‘sees’ his or her success, so you also need to have a ‘vision’ for your mediumship. Before we progress let’s spend a little time encouraging our subconscious to set up the pathways to spiritual insight:

Imagining yourself working as a medium. Create in your mind’s eye a positive image of yourself doing private sittings, speaking from the platform or whatever method appeals to you. Select the situation that you hope for and now feel that you are there. Look around and become aware of the people enjoying your presentation. You can hear their positive comments and encouragement. You can also see yourself overcoming difficult situations when you thought the mediumship was not coming through. Remind yourself to be confident with your gift and need never feel dejected. Be aware of the cheerful feelings that come with using humour, compassion and optimism with your mediumship. Build a positive image of yourself achieving accurate mediumship.

Now notice how the spirit world is connecting to you. They will use all of your senses to make their communications. Think about hearing the spirits working with you. This could be an inner voice or, for this exercise, you may imagine hearing a real voice. You are able to recognise genuine spirit contact.

Consider what it will be like when a spirit draws close. How would it feel to become aware of being a big person, or someone with a small frame or maybe someone of the opposite sex? Many of the impressions that come from the spirit are impressed upon your body to communicate qualities of the person communicating.

How do you think the spirit world would communicate the sense of smell? Working with the all the perceptions will help you to see, feel and hear the spirit communicators. Also be aware of how character, feelings and mood can be communicated.

Using the imagination in the way establishes a subconscious success pattern. It will help to build your confidence as well as helping you to understand the inner processes that accompany mediumship. Putting yourself in an imaginary setting such as in a consulting room or before an audience will enable you to overcome stage fright or nervousness and lead you towards greater self-confidence should the time come for you to work with groups of people.

Visualisation is more than just seeing; it is the art of using the imagination to experience new situations. The above exercise needs to be repeated regularly so practice this imaginary exercises occasionally to help build your self confidence. Make your imagined mediumship a resounding success so that positive affirmations become embedded into your brain and spirit. You visualisation is preparing you for success and simultaneously is sending messages to the spirit to help you with your work.

HOW TO BECOME A MEDIUM

Becoming a medium brings with it responsibility. Have you asked yourself what is really driving you and why it is that you hope to become a medium? Many people start the process of development but also a great many fail in their efforts or give up when they discover the level of dedication required. If you ask your inner voice to give you guidance it will always oblige. Put a question to your soul and it will reply. Remain in an expectant yet calm mood and just await the reply. The answer will definitely come. Ask yourself this simple question “Why do I want to be a medium?”

Remain inwardly silent for a while until an answer is given to you. It will come to you via your intuition- perhaps as an inner voice or maybe in the form of a symbolic picture or a sense of knowing. Now spend a little time contemplating what your intuition has given you. The first message you get from your inner voice is the right one as secondary messages may have been influenced and changed by your own hopes, expectations, preconceptions, fears and so on.

A Medium's Intuition

Asking your intuition for guidance, and them acting upon it is an easy way to begin accessing your hidden powers. It is a numbingly simple technique but it is surprising how few people listen to their inner voice. If you want to become a clairvoyant or a medium you will need to listen to and trust this inner voice for from this all the other powers spring. Indeed I would argue that the inner voice – and particularly the part we call the conscience- is our link not only with our unconscious and the spirit world but also is a direct line to God. We all have this- not just mediums.

I hope that the reply you received to your question had something to do with compassion and helping others rather than for personal power or material gain. Today mysticism is an industry and there are many who want to develop these powers for the wrong reasons. Are you perhaps motivated by curiosity, power, egotism or an ambition for fame? Will you be helping the bereaved to lift the clouds of pain and bring succour to those in need? What sacrifices are you prepared to make? What if your development takes many years, do you have the stamina and perseverance needed to complete the work?

I am reminded of a newcomer to who took me aside and said, “Craig, I have been sitting now for six weeks and I am still not getting anything correct. It is my intention to do this for a living so how much longer is it going to be before I can start charging people?” Clearly the man’s motive for development was completely wrong and his psychic powers never did open while he sat with me. Others in the same group, whose motivation was to help others, found their mediumship blossomed quickly.

Developing Mediumship

Developing mediumship requires qualities of integrity, perseverance, morality and above all compassion. However, not all mediums are spiritual. I have met mediums with low morals and high egos. I have even seen known fraudulent mediums who have in the past been exposed by Spiritualists working on the television. Sometimes the flower of mediumship blooms on strange soils but the human values and qualities of character I have spoken about are present in the vast majority of mediums.
Before we progress it is important to clarify exactly what I mean by a medium. Mediums are people who have a special gift that allows the spirit people to give messages from the afterlife. S/he is the link between the two worlds communicating with people who have died through mind-to-mind contact (telepathy). The objective of a medium’s work is to prove survival of the human personality after death and to help the bereaved come to terms with their loss.

The medium may produce enough information to satisfy the enquirer that their family member, friend or loved one still survives death. The medium may for example give an accurate physical description of the deceased, their work, anecdotes from their earthly life and what illness they died of and so on. Only once the identity of the spirit person is clearly established, will the medium give further evidence about shared and past memories to current events in the sitter's life. In addition, the medium may give extra details such as information about hobbies and idiosyncrasies that can help to establish the personality of the communicator.

It is important to differentiate this from psychic counseling and fortune telling. A psychic is a person who has extra sensory perception- also known as ESP or the sixth sense. These gifts include telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition and sometimes psychokinesis. Although a medium will have the same gifts the psychic does not have the ability to give verifiable information about spirit communicators. A psychic is able to "sense" on a material level but is not able to "tune in" to the spirit world, except by accident.

Psychic Mediums

Some of us call ourselves ‘psychic mediums’ because we have mediumistic ability and also powers of clairvoyance and prophecy. It is however unwise to mix prophecy and mediumship. In British Spiritualism the medium is forbidden to make predictions and restricts himself to providing verifiable information to prove that there’s life after death. Through the mediumship of the trance medium Emma Hardinge Britten Spiritualists were given seven principles that became the bedrock of their beliefs. One of these was the maxim “personal responsibility’ Taking personal responsibility for our lives implies that we have free will when deciding the future.

Psychic powers are very widespread and everyone is psychic to some degree using the natural intuitive or sixth sense that is inherent in all of us. In order to develop the mediumistic powers it is necessary to first develop the psychic powers and I will be talking you through these stages in this book.

Main Articles:

HOW TO BECOME A PSYCHIC

My Books about How to Become a Medium or Psychic.

The Psychic Workbook
The Psychic Workbook includes lots of techniques to help you become a psychic. Includes How to become a psychic, How to become a medium and how to talk to the dead.