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What is the relationship between life and death? Is it like two strangers sitting next to each other on a bus or train that are in proximity for a moment but never get to know each other? Or are they identical twins, with one mirroring the other, but in different ways?
Since humans have existed, death has been something feared by some yet embraced by others; it is the greatest equalizer of humans.
The ancient Egyptians dedicated much of their time to preparing their dead pharaohs for the afterlife and entombing them in massive monuments that still exist today.
Then there were the Vikings and their belief that the dead were found in the majestic halls of ‘‘Valhalla,’’ or Islam, with its belief in the afterlife known as ‘‘Akhirah.’’
The Hebrew Bible tells the story of the “Witch of Endor,” who was asked by the Hebrew King Saul to summon the spirit of Samuel, the prophet.
These are just a few examples, yet almost everywhere, in all parts of the globe, the fascination with death and the belief in the afterlife have always existed.
But what is the real truth, and how do we know for sure that there is (or isn’t) an afterlife? If there is an afterlife, there must certainly be a way to connect or communicate with those on the other side. But who has that power?
Throughout history, there have been unique individuals known as mediums who can supposedly communicate with the dead. But who are these people? Are psychic mediums real, and what do they see that the rest of us don’t?
Let’s explore the origin of mediumship and how the practice has evolved over the years to what it is today.
The etymology of the term “psychic” derives from the Greek word “psychos,” meaning “of the mind” or “mental,” while the term “medium” is from the Latin ‘medius’ meaning “middle,” or originally, an intermediary. Thus, a psychic medium is a go-between facilitating communication between everyday reality and the psychic or spiritual world.
Another interesting fact about the Greek word “psychikos” is that it also means “soul.” In one of the stories from Greek mythology, the maiden/goddess psyche represented a deification of the human soul.
A psychic possesses some form of extrasensory perception (ESP), which is often described as having a sixth sense. There are several types of ESP, including clairvoyance or clear seeing, clairaudience or clear hearing, and clairsentience or clear feeling.
Psychics are commonly patronized by those who are looking for some type of spiritual guidance or more profound insights into their past or future.
A psychic medium possesses the extrasensory ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead and other non-physical beings.
In modern culture, the fascination with communicating with the spirit world became popular with the rise of spiritualism, a religious movement that existed in France, England, and the U.S. during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.
Spiritualists’ main activity was seances, which consisted of medium-led groups that attempted to contact the spirits of the dead. This resulted in many mediums gaining great public notoriety.
Whenever people talk about psychic readings online, the terms medium and psychic are often interchangeable. Yet there are some distinct differences between a psychic and a medium. As mentioned before, mediums can communicate with dead and disembodied spirits, which is a form of psychic ability.
Psychics, on the other hand, while possessing some type of ESP, like clairvoyance, can’t communicate with spirits like mediums do. Hence, all mediums are psychics, but not all psychics are mediums.
For example, a psychic can see glimpses of your future, make you privy to others’ motivations, and sometimes even predict events that will happen.
On the other hand, a medium, while also having psychic abilities, can communicate with the spirit of a dead loved one and relay messages to you, something that some psychics can’t do.
Just like all psychics don’t have the same abilities, there are also different types of psychic mediums. Here are some types of mediums that can be used to get a reading.
Mental mediums hear the thoughts and voices of the spirits and communicate back via the same telepathic means.
This type of medium goes into an altered state or a deep trance and lets the spirit use it to communicate.
In this form of mediumship, a medium lets the spirits use their energy to create physical phenomena, like rapping sounds or materialized spirit bodies and/or body parts.
In this form of mediumship, the voice of the spirit speaks independently from the medium and directly communicates with the people gathered.
In this form of communicating with the spirit world, the medium uses a spirit guide as an intermediary to give them information from the spirit world at large.
Now that we have a general idea of the abilities that make one a psychic medium, you may still be wondering, “Are psychic mediums real?”
The general response to the question, “Are spiritual mediums real?” is almost universally met with the response that the entire subject is pseudoscience. This means that there is a lack of tangible proof that is both compatible and consistent with the generally accepted scientific method.
Non-believers further claim that being a psychic medium is tantamount to being a con artist, and the effects produced during their readings, like vibrations, voices, and the like, while artful, are all a definite con job.
On the other hand, believers in the spirit realm and in psychic mediums feel that just because something cannot be logically explained on a rational level does not mean it can’t exist independently of the know-it-all attitude of science.
In fact, for many who have lost loved ones, experiencing the deceased through a medium often rings true to their experiences of the deceased when they were alive.
A 2022 study that aimed to assess whether mediums could actually provide information about the deceased during a triple-blind trial produced some rather remarkable results. During the test, 9 mediums read about dead people in a triple-blind protocol in which they had no contact with the sitters.
The study concluded that some mediums are able to produce information about the deceased, knowing only their name and having no contact with the sitter. The study also concluded that some of the information obtained by the mediums came from the deceased themselves in some cases [1].
Another piece of evidence answering yes to the question, “Are psychic readings true?” appeared in a February 2024 article in the Huffington Post.
Written by a Ph.D. psychologist, it relates his experiences investigating an older woman who woke up one day and could suddenly speak a rare South American tribal dialect fluently. He was able to conclude, using rigorous testing, that the only logical conclusion was that this woman was managing to channel one or more deceased individuals [2].
Here are some answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about psychic mediums.
Although the scientific community keeps insisting that psychic abilities are not real, there is considerable anecdotal evidence and even some scientific studies to the contrary.
A legitimate psychic medium should be able to tell you things about the deceased person you’re inquiring about that only you would know. They should also be able to make you feel the presence of your deceased loved one through various means, which is something no con artist could ever pull off and no scientist could explain away as an illusion.
It is believed that a true psychic medium can communicate with the spirits of your departed loved ones and let you know how they are doing on the other side. Many have reported that this type of reading has provided them with peace, closure, and healing regarding their departed loved ones. Mediums can also help you better understand any psychic phenomenon you have experienced by revealing its deeper meaning and how it relates to you.
Yes. A medium possesses psychic abilities that allow them to communicate with dead and/or disembodied spirits using various means. Conversely, while a psychic also has some form of extrasensory perception, they are not always able to communicate directly with spirits. In summary, a medium is always a psychic, but a psychic is not always a medium.
There are two things that humans have consistently experienced throughout the ages that science routinely tells us there is no proof of: God and psychic abilities. That is until you have a medium tell you something amazing about a departed loved one that only you would know.
Science will also tell you that the average person uses only about 10% of their possible brain capacity. So what’s laying dormant in the other 90%? Maybe the consciousness of the essence of God within all of us and our inactive psychic abilities.
Mental Health