By Jo Beacall
Mediumship can be worthless without the necessary development and knowledge. The human mind is very powerful and has a tendency to fill in the gaps in areas where it lacks knowledge and understanding; this is why the media can be so damaging as it fills minds full of fantasy.It is important that a medium understands the workings of spirit. One of the biggest problems I feel is where the imagination takes over and the mind creates all kinds of frightening scenarios which have no connection to spirit at all. The saying "There is nothing to fear but fear itself" is very relevant in these situations.
A good understanding of spirit and the ways in which we communicate with spirit is essential. Sadly some mediums like to give out the impression that mediumship is something far more mysterious and magical than it actually is. I have seen first hand how some mediums like to give off the impression that they have spirit guides round for afternoon tea and actually converse face to face with such beings.
Mediumship is neither a frightening experience, nor is it so real that you could not differentiate between encounters of a physical nature and that of spirit. Mediumship is on the whole a subtle art that requires fine tuning to the required energy levels. Taking this into account would show that a basic understanding of spirit should be gained even before we try to develop abilities.
Self awareness is of utmost importance, I feel all mediums need to firstly understand themselves on many levels. A balanced mind is essential for work of a mediumistic nature and I feel that we should have a good understanding of our own thought processes. Meditation can help with this.
Meditation is not as such education but it is a turning inward to get to "know" oneself. Therefore it is in a way a means to acquire knowledge of self. This is to me an essential part of self development which is invaluable in spiritual growth.
Mediums are always the target of questions from a wide range of people wanting to either scrutinize the work of a medium or just understand mediumship at a greater level. For this reason it is a fundamental part of the development process to understand all aspects of spirit and spirit communication.
As a medium it is imperative that you can answer a wide range of questions and do so in a clear and concise manner. I am often asked questions after a sitting and feel in these situations I hold the same responsibility as any other teacher to provide factual, no nonsense information to whoever is asking the questions.
It is not an easy task to find the information we require to assist in our development as a psychic medium, I have found over the years that there will always be a certain level of fact and fiction in most sources. With this in mind we have to learn to only take what "feels right" for us. So keeping an open mind and not taking everything in without questioning it is important.
Our quest for Spiritual knowledge and development is a very personal one and I feel that we can only receive information that we will understand. I am often asked why we don't know what life is like after death. My answer to this is what my guides have told me. How can we understand a world without matter when we would have no point of comparison?
I feel much of the information that comes through from guides and spirit teachers comes in a way that we could understand but is not always necessarily factual. With this in mind we need to make our understanding of all interlinking knowledge as great as possible. As the greater our understanding of science, consciousness, philosophy and the universe as a whole increases our ability to comprehend the information that spirit brings.
So the statement "Education for mediums is not necessary" is not just a stupid thing to presume. It could prove to be potentially dangerous and should not be recommended in any circumstances. Education is an ongoing process that we never totally complete. Even the greatest mediums should continue to learn as part of their continued growth and development.
Johanne Beacall, 1 October 2007
Teaching psychic and mediumistic development free online
