My earliest memory of psychics being on TV was Miss Cleo and the Psychic Readers Network, and then there was Dione Warwick and the Psychic Friends Network. I don't know what your opinion may have been of those infomercials, but mine certainly weren't of a positive nature. Both were commercials and infomercials about call-in lines for psychic predictions, and psychic readings. Of course, there were many jokes and generalizations about psychics and the work that they do. This was not a good foundation for psychic phone readings to be based on.
We've come a long way since that time, in both education about psychics. As I have written before, not all are good, not all are bad. And since the timing of Psychic Readers Network and Psychic Friends Network, there have been several psychic mediums who have done television shows that has done as much good for the reputation of the work, as those first two did to damage it. John Edward's show, Crossing Over, and then there was Beyond with James Van Praagh. People were able to watch members of the audiences get readings from these two mediums and see how connecting with their loved ones worked. Not only were the members of the audiences brought to tears, but television audiences wept as well, hoping to possibly to be able to make that connection with their own loved ones.
And then came the television series that were put on. They were put on as entertainment, but my belief is that they also helped to educate people. Keeping in mind that there is, of course, the "Hollywood" aspect of the show, and there is also a foundation, if you will, of truth in some of it. And how much reality there was in the show depended on which show you might have been watching. Let me start with Charmed, which was a show about three sisters who got their powers back after the death of their grandmother, "Grams." Phoebe was the psychic sister, who was able to see things that were yet to come. She had the gift of precognition, which means to see things before they happen. The way in which her precognitive abilities were shown is by her touching someone or something and seeing the impending trouble. Because the premise of the show was that the girls were always fighting against demons, Phoebe rarely saw good things coming in the future. The act of touching something or someone and getting a premonition is the element that is not necessary. I'm not saying that it is not possible, I'm saying it's not necessary. Touching someone or something and getting information about the object or the person is called psychometry. As the girls grew closer, their gifts grew as well. Phoebe then received the gift of empathy. Being an empath means feeling what another person feels. Having this gift can be overwhelming, especially if you are unaware of having it, and that in turn causes an inability to control it. An example of how an empath picks up things from others is, an empath can be in a room full of people, everyone is happy and having a good time. The next thing that happens is that another person walks into the room and she happens to be very angry, the energy in the room changes dramatically. The empath will pick up on this and feel the anger raging in his or herself. I'm sure you have felt something similar to this in the past. This is one of the ways that a psychic or medium gets information, either about the person who has died, or the person having the reading. The psychic is able to differentiate what they are feeling is associated with the dead person, or the person having the session. I'm not going to go into the gifts that Piper, or Prue had in this blog. While they did have some gifts that psychics and mediums have, the vast majority of theirs were for show, literally.
The next show I would like to talk about is Ghost Whisperer, with Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon. Melinda was able to see, hear, and communicate with "ghosts" in the show. In reality there are some souls that have not moved into the light because they have unfinished business. Psychic Mediums are able to see, hear, and feel things from a soul that is communicating with them, so this is the part of the show that was real. Again, the "Hollywood" aspect of this show is that number of times that this happens in one small town. James Van Praagh was the Co-executive Producer on this show. Having him on board certainly helped to keep this show closer to psychic mediums experience.
Then we have the show Medium, which is based on the life of Allison Dubois. Allison is another psychic medium. In the show when a case needs to be solved Allison had a "dream" which gives her clues to lead to what happened. Reality is that mediums do at times get information that can be helpful to law enforcement in solving a crime, or helping to find a missing person. For the most part, mediums do not have dreams every night that are connected to their readings. There are psychics and mediums who at times get information about things that either have happened, or are going to happen, and the information can be helpful to law enforcement. Just as there are in all walks of life, there are law enforcement officers who believe in the gifts that psychics have, and are willing to use those tips to help solve a crime or find a missing person. For many reasons, most of which are obvious, law enforcement will not come out and acknowledge that this is a practice that is used in their departments. but psychics are used in situations similar to that of a confidential informant.
All in all, the more recent television shows that have been based on, or feature a psychic or a psychic medium as based on some foundation of truth. In other words, some of the things that are portrayed are true and accurate, others are exaggerated for entertainment purposes. And if you are thinking about having a reading you should decide what is the purpose for having a reading, if it is for entertainment purposes, you and a few of your friends are doing it just for a "hoot" as they say, then you can just pick any one you want, and "remember" you were doing it for fun, and keep it perspective. If you are, however, doing it because you have lost a loved one, or you are experiencing a life situation that you need guidance in, then do your research first. Talk to a friend who has spoken to one, search on-line and read as much as you can about the person you are going to make an appointment with. Learn what the tell tale signs are of a scammer, Is Your Psychic Real or a Scam? You can also visit a site that Bob Olson has created to help people find a good psychic or psychic medium, http://www.bestpsychicdirectory.com. Seeing a psychic for fun is one thing, and seeing one for healing and help is completely different. Make sure you select the right one for you.
Until next time, Love and Light to you all.
