There has been some confusion over the differences between mediumship and psychic skills, and so we decided it was time to investigate and who better to ask than some currently working mediums. In a small survey conducted towards the end of 2000 we are able to present our findings.

Firstly let's look at the 'technical' and established differences between a Psychic and medium; 

Mediums - A medium can communicate with those in the spirit world, this may include a variety of techniques to accomplish the task. 

Psychics - Do not contact spirit people, yet are able to make predictions and sense things about people and events.

I said 'technical' differences because in practice most 'mediums' are psychics as well. It's useful to understand these terminologies, should you wish to visit a psychic fair for a reading, you will know who to select for the reading you require. 

To add a little flavour to the debate I brought this thought forward;

It is believed that we all have a spirit guide. Spirit guides can speak to other guides at the speed of thought. Our mediums can hear or sense information from their guides. So perhaps we mediums are just acting on what your guide tells our guide who in turn tells us! If your with me!?    

So is it a natural psychic skill that allows us to pick up things about the people who come to see us, or is it all the work of our spirit guides and helpers? I and many other mediums speak of the differences between psychics and mediums, and if the division exists, where does one stop and the next begin? 

Here are some of the responses to the above question..

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"A psychic uses his or her natural sensitivities to read the vibrations of the universe by establishing a telepathic link with the energy of an object or person.  Spirit is not the source of information obtained through such means.  A medium uses his or her psychic ability to receive information from people in the spirit world."

- Reverend Steve Hermann

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My idea has always been that psychics and mediums are not the same thing. A psychic can also function as a medium, but a medium does not have to be psychic to function properly.

I believe a true medium provides the means (instrument) through which a spirit entity can transmit information. The medium adds no information himself during this transmission.

The psychic obtains his information intuitively, although he may become more adept at developing his information through one or more of the generally accepted fields, such as clairvoyance, psychometry, etc.

Elwin Reed
UK

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I believe that if one calls oneself a spiritualistic medium, you work with the souls departed. And that is a link to the other side with my guide as a doorkeeper. My guide sees to that I get the right souls comes forth. He also protects me. But I cant understand why information should be interchanged between guides and I don't think it's appropriate.

When you work psychically and gather information from the clients aura, that is done without the guide's intervention. To work solely in this manner is not the spiritual way, for me.
 
Pia Palm,
Kalmar, Sweden

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I personally think that a good psychic is in fact a medium ! I do not really like that title "Medium" as I feel claiming to be a medium is in fact claiming to pick up loved ones all the time, this I could NEVER do!  I feel in fact that no one can do it ALL the time! Not with the best will in the world! this I always point out to my sitter as well, as I feel that is most important!

So I feel it is pure psychic ability, I have no doubt about that at all. How it works for me is....... I can always read the Tarot, and do psychometry, plus very often (but not always) pick up information from a departed loved one for my sitter.

Where does the information come from? Well...when I do my readings most often a loved one who belongs to my sitter will come through to pass on some relevant information.  Even though I have never meet them before I always get something even if its only one or two little bits of information. I either see, sense, hear or feel it. In fact I often pick up for people I have never meet over the Internet. I sit quiet and close my eyes and wait! I have set many peoples minds at rest with the information that I am able to give them. I confess at times even I am gob smacked but what I receive.

I can not claim to EVER have seen any GUIDES, Red Indians, Chinese doctors, etc! I see, sense, or feel a loved one come through for my sitter. As I say NOT ALWAYS THOUGH. Sometimes I can only give them a reading via the cards, the cards are a wonderful tool to guide people. I am sure that we all have a Higher self, OK maybe a guardian angel. I have seen him/her in the dream state. Well not seen him/her as to be able to fully describe them, but I am shown things from him/her. So once again my feeling is it is all psychic ability.

Diane Jones.
Brighton, England.

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All humans are psychic. Some of us are just more attuned to the vibrational energy of those around us, while others chose to remain unaware. I say choose because that is what it is - a choice to tune out many of the signals, signs, and messages being sent to us daily. Also, psychics do not make contact with those who have crossed over - mediums do. Psychics make a telepathic link with people or objects that exist in this world, while mediums link telepathically with BOTH people in this world and with those in the next. Everyday we have psychic experiences. It’s knowing who's on the other end of the phone line before it rings. It’s the dreams we have that come true. It’s that gut instinct to go somewhere or do something. It’s often a soft whisper as simple as “Walk to the left,�?and we do and we meet the person we end up marrying.

I believe that in the realm of truly knowing whom it is or where it is we receive our information, this will be a question left unknown. We can think we have ' the true answer' yet how does one truly know what is true unless one has experienced it? So I believe that to allow these messages from wherever they are coming from, to come through us and to pass on the messages to those whom they are for, is the highest act a medium or a psychic can do. We are messengers, simply put. Our job is to be able to convey what is sent in the most loving way so that the message sent is the same one which is passed on to others.

Lysa Moskowitz-Mateu
USA

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Conclusions?

It seems from our small survey that just about all of our participants believe there is definitely a difference between a medium and a psychic. Me? I'm not so sure, you see I've noticed regardless of what type of information I pick up, there seems to be a law in place which controls things. It's how we are lead to the right information, how we don't get information we are not supposed to have. How things just seem to work out right for the occasion or person. It seems to me that 'reading someone's aura' or 'intuitively picking up the vibrations that are floating around us and the planet' would lead to all manner of information coming forward in a very random order. And although just my humble opinion, I like to think we are guided, helped and encouraged in every endeavor to use our gift for the good of mankind. 

Psychic Skills

Psychics may work with any number of different techniques, Tarot, Crystal Balls, Psychometry etc. It all depends on the individual and what `works` for them. The use of the above items often just helps the psychic to tune-in better.

There is another very suitable word used to describe psychics, and that is a ' sensitive '. The psychic is in effect sensitive to the thoughts, emotions and events around him. Using the psychic awareness can also be likened to the imagination. I remember telling one of my students to imagine the walls of the room we were sitting in to be a different colour. The actual colour of the walls were yellow, but I asked her to imagine they were blue. The next step was to get her to tell me how she felt about the effect this different colour had on her. Doing this exercise puts you in touch with the area in which psychic information comes from.

Of course some people grow up being psychic, but that does not stop us from learning the technique later. The term natural psychic simply means that someone has grown up with the ability. From an early age their psychic awareness was already part of their lives. At the age of about 13 I can remember predicting when a family member would be calling round, I experienced a smug satisfaction at being right, but not really knowing why.

The awareness itself seems to operate on many different levels, depending on your development. From simple predications and knowledge to very personal insights into other peoples feelings. When someone starts to first develop their awareness, the information received is often very random, but also very trivial. It could for example be of world events such as a plane crash or forest fire. But as they progress it becomes more personal to individuals, perhaps reflecting the increased capacity to deal with that information, and perhaps also reflecting the 'law' of which I mentioned previously?