SPIRIT POWER
JOHN
G. SUTTON
Peter James. Derek Acorah. John G. Sutton
Throughout the years I have been working with and writing about the paranormal or supernatural there is one question that has been put to me more often than most. The question concerns the difference between a psychic and a medium. People new to the subject do not understand that there is a difference and they should bear this in mind when seeking a personal consultation. In my recent book, ‘The Psychic World of Derek Acorah’ published by Piatkus, I attempt to make the distinction clear: A medium receives communications from discarnate spirits and passes these to those to whom they are intended. A psychic receives visions/impressions of the past and sometimes of the future from the aura of the subject or questioner. These visions they interpret and pass to the questioner. The psychic may also be mediumistic but this is not essential. The aforementioned book touches on this subject but those seeking a wider explanation would do well to read ‘The Power Of Your Spirit’ By Stephen O’Brien published by Voices Books.
In his book Stephen O’Brien makes the following point ‘Responsible sensitives must know from which sources their mental impressions and factual information originate. They should be aware that it isn’t difficult to register facts psychically (i.e. telepathically) from the minds of others, from the psychic atmospheres in the séance-room, or even from the depths of their own subconscious thoughts’. The point that Stephen is making here is very valid, he explains clearly that whilst during a ‘reading’ one may be able to give factual information i.e. names, addresses etc. that information can be accessed telepathically. The point being that many who refer to themselves as spirit-mediums may in fact be just psychic i.e. gaining information by means of telepathy.
Stephen O'Brien
To quote further from Stephen’s book ‘How, then, can you tell if you’re a psychic or a medium? Well there are several important indicators and here are the main ones: If you persist in selecting the recipients of your messages from a crowd of people, it’s quite possible that you might become caught in a ‘psychic trap’, because whenever you choose your recipients the spirit world must stand silently beside you, for you disempower them. Here is the golden rule A psychic directs his own work, but a medium’s work is directed by spirit-world inspirers’. There may be many psychic-mediums who would agree with Stephen. However I was once privileged to see Gordon Higginson on the platform in Manchester and he went directly to those he gave messages to and was very specific. To one lady he recited a prayer that she had said immediately prior to leaving for the demonstration given by Gordon. I do not believe that too many people would have questioned his gift. But the point Stephen seems to me to be making is that fishing expeditions into the audience with vague bait such as ‘Is there a number 3 on your door’ are to be discouraged. At least for all serious spirit-mediums who wish to serve and bring the truth of survival to this physical world.
Public demonstrations with mediums passing messages from the spirit world are a matter of concern for all Spiritualists. Stephen’s book deals quite frankly with this subject and his words make a great deal of sense. ‘Demonstrating clairvoyance to the public in theatres and city halls is much more difficult than delivering it in Spiritualist churches or psychic societies: to command and then hold the attention of 2,000 people requires advanced presentation skills, which include projecting your personality to completely involve everyone at the meeting. In large crowds, unless you get your facts absolutely right and hold the public’s attention they’ll get up and walk out’. This is a very valid point and one that is discussed in some depth within the pages of O’Brien’s book. There are of course many methods of gripping the attention of an audience, one is, as Stephen says, to give accurate factual messages from the spirit world, that is what people want and it is the spiritual way. All who would wish to publicly demonstrate their mediumship should read what Stephen has to say.
On the matter of the media O’Brien again pulls no punches and spells out exactly why he is extremely careful when dealing with television/radio producers/directors and researchers. As our own editor Ray Taylor recently pointed out in his editorial column the ITC Rules state that psychic matters are to be treated as ‘entertainment’ This is an insult compounded by the fact that there is today a great deal of media attention focused on the paranormal. To exploit this and excite public attention some mediums/psychics are using their acting skills instead of their spiritual gifts. No names no pack drill but switch on the TV and have a brief look at some of the nonsense that is being put out under the guise of psychic investigation. This kind of Shock-WoW! Razzle-Dazzle Psychic KerPow! stuff is just entertainment. It may well have its place alongside programmes such as ‘Stripsearch’ and ‘The Stag and Hen Show’ but it certainly isn’t Spiritualism. I was recently approached by the head of research for a new TV show asking me for sensational stories and would I like to be featured on the programme. Well no thanks, but if you, dear reader, want a go send me an e-mail or letter via Ray Taylor and I will be pleased to give you the telephone number and name of the researcher. All they ask is that you tell your story on camera. So if you fancy being made to look like a plonker why not have a go. Then you too can have the dubious pleasure of having some dizzy blonde gawping wide-eyed at you and saying things like ‘Ooooooooooh I heard footsteps……….something touched me!’ Really?
However if you are seriously considering personal psychic/mediumship development and have ever wanted a book that deals honestly and in some detail with the subject then I sincerely recommend that you read Stephen O’Brien’s ‘The Power of Spirit’ published by Voices Books at £8.99. In my opinion it ranks alongside Harry Edwards ‘A Guide For The Development Of Mediumship’ Published by Con-Psy Publications.