It’s a beautiful early February day. My friend and I decide to go for a walk along the bike trail. He checks in on me every once in a while. As we walk and I’m updating him on how I’m doing I mention something a medium I’ve been speaking with told me about my future. I didn’t think anything of talking with a medium. He asks a couple of questions, but doesn’t say much. A few minutes later he asks me some more questions. Did I pay her? How did we communicate? I tell him no I didn’t pay her. I’m not even sure if she is a professional medium. She volunteered her services. All of our communication has been over Facebook messenger. I know she doesn’t live in the United States, but I don’t know where I the world she does actually live. Again, he doesn’t say much. I can tell there is more there, but he keeps it to himself. As we finish our walk, here it comes.
In a very polite and restrained way he says “Brian, about seeing a medium. Just be careful. Use your discernment. You know I believe there is real evil in the world.” I thank him for his concern and tell him I will be careful and use my discernment. I consider myself open minded but skeptical. I know my talking to mediums concerns some people, particularly Christians who have been taught mediums are bad and communicating with the dead is taboo. I’ve had the same reaction from fundamentalists about meditating and yoga. Anything outside of our tradition is dangerous. I had someone once say that when I empty my mind doing yoga, it might make room for Satan or demons to come in. I asked her why wouldn’t it make room for the Holy Spirit?
I have a couple of things to say about the medium thing. There are without scam artists preying on grieving people who have given mediumship a bad name. And there are mediums who just aren’t that good- lots of them in fact. That is true for any profession you can name. But there are mediums who are very good at what they do and it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that there are mediums who can communicate with the Other Side. There is a mountain of anecdotal evidence. And, there are actually scientific, more than double blind, studies that show some people can talk to those on the other side. So, the notion that all mediums are frauds has been falsified. Anyone who looks at the data with an open mind has to come to that conclusion. Yes, mediums are for at real, at least some of them.
As for the notion that mediums are evil or are in contact with evil. What I have found interesting is this. I thought mediums would tell us there are no evil spirits. Some say that, but what seems like the majority to me either say there are evil spirits or they simply don’t deal with the dark side. The mediums I am familiar with almost all pray and meditate and ask for protection. They are deeply spiritual people who genuinely want to help others. They believe in a higher power and they serve that higher power (Christians call it God and some mediums do too). They are not in contact with evil unless evil is doing such a great job of disguising itself that it’s helping people heal and have hope. I was listening a researcher who has studied mediums, under laboratory conditions and he said his casual observation is that about 50% of the mediums he works with say they talk to Jesus (he is usually referred to as The Master) on a regular basis. I don’t mean talk to him like when you and I kneel down to pray. I mean they say they have conversations with Him. I think most Christians would be surprised to hear that mediums are using their abilities to talk to Jesus
The prevailing model of grief counseling for many years was based on the fact that your loved one is gone, you will never see her again, get over it. That model doesn’t work all that well. And I can tell you it doesn’t work for me at all. What grief counselors have discovered is the continuing bonds model works much better. The continuing bonds model is based on the notion that when our loved ones leave their bodies, they do not leave our lives. They are still here with us, still involved, still loving us. We just cannot perceive them in the way we did when they were in the body. Infants up until a certain point in their development believe when their mother leaves the room their mother no longer exists. At some point they realize that Mommy still exists, she’s just in the other room and soon we will see her again. The continuing bonds approach to grief counseling is for the bereaved to continue that relationship with their loved one on the Other Side until we are reunited in the same room. What better way to do that than to hear from her? A medium can be the telephone that allows us to make that call. People who combine a visit or visits with good mediums along with grief counseling deal with the their grief better than those who only see a counselor, particularly a counselor who doesn’t give any hope.
I like to refer to my old buddy St. Paul a lot. While I don’t subscribe to his religion anymore, the guy can teach us a lot. Paul talked to the dead Jesus on the road to Damascus. Jesus communed with the long dead Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop. The story of Saul and the medium of Endor is an interesting one. Saul wanted to contact the dead for some advice. But, to keep the monopoly for the priests, Saul had expelled all the mediums and forbidden readings. Saul got his reading. She did bring up the guy he wanted to talk to who told Saul he would be defeated in battle. Some take this as a warning to not consult mediums. But, note what actually happened (this is in 1 Samuel). Saul wasn’t punished for visiting the medium. Saul had already lost favor with God. Saul was seeking guidance through prophets and dreams, but God had cut him off. The priest did all kinds of divining (look up urim and thummin). Saul went to see a medium because he knew she was the real deal and he got a legit reading. It just wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
I appreciate the concern people have about mediums. It’s caveat emptor. Buyer beware. I would say definitely do not go to anyone without a referral. And people,can become addicted to mediums and not learn to accept even though our loved ones are still here, it’s a different relationship now because of our limited ability to perceive them. I’ve heard mediums who will only do a limited number of readings for an individual client and who won’t even take an appointment until it’s been six months after the person’s crossing. However, for me, I have no concern that talking to the dead is taboo, evil or that mediums are all scam artists. For me, the communications I have had with Shayna have been healing and have brought me hope.
The people who have crossed over are not far away, they tell me. They are right here. If there is a way I can communicate with her, I’m going to do it. I’m not concerned about the danger.
