Dear Julia:
I understand that psychic readings are for entertainment purposes. Some people take them quite seriously, however, and use them to help them make real life decisions. What is the best way to view and use the information received in a reading? Should we consider readings as entertainment only, given all the disclaimers?
Mary
Dear Mary:
Thanks for a great question!
Mankind has always consulted the stars, shamans, priests and oracles for guidance and understanding. Indeed, divination and spirit communication have been key spiritual practices in every religion I can think of throughout history around the world, from the ancient Egyptians to Native Americans to Hawaiian, African, East Indian and Asian cultures. Most European societies respected and practiced various divination techniques before Christianity converted those “pagans” or annihilated those who refused to give up the old ways.
We’ve come a long way from the days of the Inquisition and the outright murder of so-called “witches,” but those who practice spiritual arts that fall outside the normal practices of Catholic and Protestant Christianity are still generally marginalized and maligned in the West. While interest in so-called “alternative” spiritual paths is growing, to this day many cities, counties and states throughout the U.S. still have anti-fortune telling laws on the books, which prohibit all sorts of practices such as psychic readings, palm readings, tea leaf readings, tarot card readings, even astrology readings. While these laws are rarely enforced, it does happen – usually much to the surprise of the spiritual practitioner. I personally know a gifted medium – a very respectable older lady – who was hauled off to jail one day some ten years ago for practicing “fortune telling.” Many such ordinances have been overturned as unconstitutional, but it’s not a battle most sensitive folks want to take on.
I certainly don’t believe that psychic readings are for entertainment purposes only. This work is about consciously helping others to connect with God, make spiritual sense of their lives, make peace with profound fears and experiences of loss, receive divine guidance in order to make wise decisions, and heal on all levels to enjoy greater happiness and well-being. If spiritual counselors were practicing in other societies, instead of needing to protect themselves with disclaimers, they’d be revered as community treasures. The history behind how “psychics” became so maligned and mistrusted by society is too long and complicated to cover here. In general, however, it was driven by a Catholic church that was desperate to gain and maintain control over the population, the bias by “Christians” against any and all spiritual beliefs/ practices/ races/ cultures not approved of by the church, and our ever growing dependency on logic, science, etc., to the exclusion of all that is mystical, intuitive and unexplainable.
Given this rather hostile climate, intelligent psychics have been forced to work with reality by adding legal disclaimers to their websites, brochures, etc. If you think about it, you’ll realize that this has nothing to do with psychics, and everything to do with our increasingly litigious world. Every business seems to have a legal disclaimer these days. I recently joined a new fitness club and had to sign a contract stating that I would not sue the establishment for any injuries incurred while on their property or using their equipment. Does this mean that the owners of the gym have been careless about creating a safe environment? Not at all! In fact, it means that they’re being careful about how they run their business. I personally don’t know a single psychic reader who sincerely believes his or her services are for “entertainment only.” Those who do carry that disclaimer are simply exercising foresight and good common sense given the potential legal ramifications.
Of course, as with many other professions, the psychic world has known a good number of frauds, hustlers, etc. and many laws were designed to protect the consumer. Unfortunately, the psychic arts are so far from the mainstream as to be vastly unknown or misunderstood by lawmakers, and laws against all psychic work resulted. (Imagine trying to protect consumers from medical fraud by prohibiting the practice of medicine and the establishment of hospitals, or trying to protect children from sexual abuse by abolishing the priesthood. As medicine and Catholicism are mainstream, the “bad seeds” in those establishments are judged to be abominations; as the psychic arts are far from the mainstream, misunderstood and feared due to their association with the great unknown, the frauds sadly came to be associated with psychics in general).
The bottom line is in the modern Western world, many psychics are living in societies that have the power to persecute them for doing what seers and sensitives throughout history have always done. Many people now even believe that it is impossible to foretell the future or communicate with spirits. When it is assumed that what psychics offer to do is impossible, then those psychics are logically considered to be frauds. By disclaiming that their services are for “entertainment purposes only,” psychics skirt the whole issue of what is possible, and thus protect themselves.
I personally do not employ such a disclaimer, however, for two reasons:
First, I am an ordained Spiritualist minister, and as such I am protected by the law. It’s my understanding that most ordinances prohibit one requesting or receiving any sort of compensation for acts of fortune telling, palmistry, clairvoyance, divination, etc. EXCEPT when such acts are legitimate forms of religious worship. To be officially “religious,” of course, the religion has to have been granted tax exempt status by the federal government. Spiritualism is one such religion. By becoming an ordained Spiritualist minister, I can legally offer my services as a medium without fear of criminal prosecution.
Second, I guarantee my work, as does the Psychic Chat Network affiliated with Kajama. This is something I believe every legitimate business should do. If clients are dissatisfied with a business’ product or services, they should be able to get their money back. Not only does this prevent complaints and lawsuits, it establishes the karmic energy essential to success. Frauds generate angry, dissatisfied clients; they are their own undoing. Sincere psychics who strive to give more than their clients are expecting generate appreciative, devoted clientele who feel they’ve found a psychic “bargain.” This means no charge-backs to deal with, a high demand for one’s services, and a wonderfully clear conscience.
Ultimately, of course, it’s impossible to give more than you get back, or to get more than you give: everything balances out in the end. Thus I trust that anyone who tries to abuse my guarantee will get what is coming to them, and that if I am sincere and honest and trustworthy, I’ll get what’s coming to me, too. This approach has proven very wise and successful for more than a decade now. Only once in all that time did a client request her money back, and it was because the answer Spirit delivered was not what she wanted to hear.
So don’t let those disclaimers put you off. They’re reflective of the society we live in, not the nature and value of psychic work in general.
- Julia
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