Receiving A Reading
In Person, Over The Phone or On The Internet

This posting started in response to several questions I've received through email asking for clarification of information people received through a reading. The original question was "How Do People Tell The Future Online?" I thought about how to answer this and decided there's more in that question than just what these 7 words suggest. Here then are some things everyone should know about receiving a reading, online, on the phone or in person.   How Do Readings Work? Energy is energy and it can be sensed, "picked-up", or "tuned into" in a variety of ways. For the person receiving a reading, there is one very important thing to remember. Absolutely no one, and I mean NO ONE can read the future. Because the future is not set. You have free will and choice and what you decide today can change in an hour and alter the future.   What a psychic can do is interpret the energy patterns around you and gain a view of the "possible" outcomes that lay before you. If and only if, you do not change the patterns as they are at the time of the reading, then there is a good likelihood that the events will occur.   If you want to see a good example of this, try watching "A Christmas Carol" for 100th time this season. Dickens knew what he was talking about when he wrote this wonderful saga. If Scrooge didn't change his attitude, if he didn't change the patterns of his energy, then the future outcome for him would be grim and bleak. But through the help of his Ghostie friends (kinda like spirit guides, don't you think?). Scrooge was able to review his life in the past and present. By doing so, he saw the karma he had created and the negative energy he had put out into the universe. Learning about the soul inside the man, Scrooge then changed his energy and therefore changed his patterns for the future.   So basically it works like this. You make choices during your every day life. What you think, feel and do all create energy. That energy exists within your being and around you. The energy patterns that exist between you and the interactions you have with other people, animals or situations in your life are also attached to you. A psychic comes along and 'feels' those energy patterns. Depending on what their specific talent is, they can 'see', 'hear', 'feel', 'taste' or 'smell' that energy and interpret the flow or outcome of those patterns for you.   A very simplistic example is this. You sleep walk and head down the hallway of your home. A psychic can follow you and based on your current direction, they can tell you're heading for the kitchen. They can feel what you feel and interpret your direction and the probable outcome is that you're going to get something to eat. A good psychic will be able to 'feel' your energy enough, that they can tell you what you're craving and know you're going to make a peanut butter sandwich, eat it and go back to bed.   A really good psychic will be able to pick up on all the energy around you. And they'll be able to sense the cat in the living room that will jump across the coffee table and knock off the cup of tea you left before going to bed. So they'll be able to sense that your journey to the kitchen will be diverted and you'll head for the living room instead of the kitchen.   Well let's say you had such a reading, so that night you decided to have a glass of warm milk instead of tea. You didn't sleep walk that night, didn't make a sandwich. You altered the energy patterns, simply by make a different choice in your nightly routine. ...But perhaps the cat still knocked over the glass you left on the coffee table. Instead of knocking it over to follow you to the kitchen, she knocked it over trying to get the last bit of milk you left in the glass... This really is a simplistic example, but you can see how your choices can alter the information you're given, but parts can still come to pass because some patterns of energy still exist.   There are so many people who are just starting out and don't really know what they're doing yet. They don't really understand the energy they are tapping into, and yet they feel qualified to give readings. Many people take these readings very seriously. To the point of making life choices based on what they are told in a reading. For these people, I'd simply tell you…DON’T DO THIS. No matter how good the psychic is! Or how much you trust them! Don't change your life because someone else told you to.   Receiving a reading is simply an additional guidance or awareness of information. But just like you wouldn't base a job change on one persons opinion, you should not make life choices solely upon a reading, or even several readings. That is not taking control of your own life. Bluntly put, it's a cop out. You're putting the responsibility of your choices on the shoulders of someone else. That is not fair to them or to your souls purpose here on earth.   On the other side of the coin however. If you are just becoming aware of your psychic gifts, don't assume you're qualified to give readings to people without first telling them of your experience level. You might think you're accurate, but don't make that assumption. There is a GREAT deal of responsibility that goes along with the position of psychic reader or channel. If you are unsure of the information you're receiving, then tell the client that. If you're really unclear about some of the information you're receiving or picking up on, then ask your guides for clarification before you give it. If you're still unclear, skip it and say nothing. This is how one acquires discernment, which is a key ability in becoming a psychic reader.   The alternative for both sides is gaining karmic debt. As the reader, you're karmic burden is greater. If you give the wrong information to an individual and that person makes decisions based on your information, than you have interfered with their path in this life. Big no no. However, if you're the client and you make choices solely based on a reading, then you too are gaining some karmic debt. By not taking responsibility for your own life and your own choices. Some people even phrase this is as "Giving up your power". I won't get into the issues of the word "power", but the concept is correct.   It's up to the receiver to determine which people have the talent and experience and which ones don't. But sometimes you need to the reading results to make that determination. So set up some criteria before you have a reading to help with your determination.   People who have the ability will give you more information than you give them. They won't probe you for information. And you need to be weary and cautious when giving information to a reader. You don't want to give too much, because they may simply turn the words around and give it back to you. In other words, they don't tell you anything you don't already know. This is true regardless of how you receive a reading, in person, over the phone or over the net. But it's easier to fake being psychic on the internet, than it is in person.   A good reader will simply ask you for some information that helps them make the connection to you. Your first name, birth date and general location. Once into the reading they may ask you to confirm some information they give you, so they know they are appropriately connected to you. They may say..you are married, right? Now of course there's a 50-50 chance they're taking to be right or wrong, but you will have to determine how good the reader is as you get farther along. Sometimes a reader will ask you some questions up front, that seem like they're probing when they're merely trying to ensure they're connecting to you specifically, but then they'll feel comfortable with the connection and start telling you more and in more detail than what they're asking you.   A good reading is one where specific information is given to you. Not generalized high level stuff. But detailed enough to be specifically about you. Having a reader give you a name of your friend or relative is a good indication they are what they claim to be. However, don't use this as the only criteria. Some psychics don't do well in picking up names. So your criteria should be some what flexible and looks at the reading overall.   Finally one key component to telling if you received a 'real' reading is that you're left feeling very uplifted and empowered. Spiritual readings that are nothing but doom and gloom are very often questionable, in their accuracy and information. Even if you're having a hard time right now, a good psychic will receive information from the spirit guides around you and provide you with possible solutions to facing your problems. You are left feeling empowered to make positive changes and energized by the reading itself.   But you also have to be wary of the psychic who tries to build you up too much. One of the common things I hear is "you are a stronger or more powerful psychic than I am". Well, if that were true, would you need to go to a psychic to get this information? Wouldn't you have known that before you walked into their domain? Sometimes there is such a thing as too good.   Psychic Talents There are different kinds of psychics, tarot readers, healers and so on. A channel is not the same thing as a psychic. You might want to review the posting on Psychic Development for a more detailed explanation. But in general, everyone is psychic to some degree. But not all psychics are channels. A psychic interprets energy from you, the universe or whatever. A channel is a conduit for this energy. They do not interpret it, they simply deliver it. A channel is at a higher level or degree of ability than a psychic. But this is a different topic.   There are many types of psychic abilities, some people can feel energy, some can "hear" spirit, others can "see" spirit and so on. Each person can find their particular ability and work to develop it. Through that work they may enhance their other psychic abilities and expand their awareness and talent. Again, if this is something you're interested in, read the Psychic development article link above.   So how do people read over the internet? Tuning into someone in person is the easiest way to conduct a reading. But if a psychic is sensitive enough, that energy can be connected through a phone line, or through a computer or even just by connecting to the person mentally in an absentee reading, then the information can be just as valid or accurate. However, it does depend greatly on the level of the psychic and their abilities.   But in some ways, using computers and phone lines to "connect" to a client is really a misnomer. You don't really connect through these different types of equipment, you really connect to each other through the astral or universal plane. But, if you haven't heard this before, my favorite quote comes from Albert Einstein "Thought is energy. To create it, use your imagination".   When we talk to someone on the phone or over the computer, we are using this medium to aid our imagination in creating the bridge between us. Even though the bridge is really created on the astral level, we can imagine a connection going through the monitor, or phone receiver to help us create that energy connection. The only difference between using these devices and connecting to someone in person is that the distance between us is shorter, so the connection can be created quicker or more strongly.   Think of it like a lamp and an outlet in your home. If you take your favorite lamp out to the end of your driveway. Use an extension cord to plug the lamp into the same outlet inside your home. The result is a loss of voltage through the cord because of the greater distance between the source of the energy (the outlet) and the receiver of the energy (the lamp). The same is true between a psychic and a client. The greater the distance, the harder it is to make a stable connection and provide accurate information.   For a healing channel, using the computer is a great method to use for helping others. But as a "reader", it's a very difficult medium to use. I am a channel, and although I love doing readings, it really takes a lot out of me to make a connection to someone, then connect with their guide, and then try to type the information out on the screen. It causes me to be more "here", to be a little more conscious about what is happening during the course of the reading. In some ways I feel like I'm fighting the energy from spirit in order to remain partially conscious in order to type the reading.   The alternative would be to do what I normally do in person. To simply step aside and allow the guides to "take over" for a brief time. To use me as a tool. But if I did this, it would mean giving complete physical control over to the guide in order for them to manipulate my hands and type on the keyboard. As a channel, I don't want to give up that much control. I know few channels who do. But I know very few guides who even want that type of control over a physical human. it's basically a matter of respect and an understanding of who's body this really belongs to. If that makes sense.   The best method for these type of readings is for the channel to have a partner. The partner does the actual typing so the channel can utilize their complete being for the reading. But you don't have to be a channel to use this method.   So..your homework, for your own information…. Is one of two things. If you have had a reading over the net, sit down and review the information you were given. Try to recall how much information you freely gave to the reader, and how much they gave you without probing. Try to remember how you felt after the reading, did you feel uplifted and ready to take on the world? If so, it was probably a good read. If not, if you felt drained, and hopeless, then it's probably a reading you can completely discard and forget about. If you haven't had a reading over the computer…or even if you have and you'd like to try this…go to the video store and rent Dickens Christmas Carol. Try watching the movie with a new perspective and see how much of this classic tale has some pretty big metaphysical lessons beneath the story line. Oh, and don't forget the popcorn. ;-)

Sources: 1 Created:  04/08/1999        Updated: 12/16/2007