Updated 2021.12.30

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Now, more people are getting healing sessions with mediums than ever before.

The industry is expanding, research is rapidly supporting many of the claims that arise in readings, and lots of new practitioners and products are coming onto the market. 

If you're a medium, it's a great time to be alive and if you like mediums and could use their support, you’re in luck because more and more are training and practicing every day.

If you're looking for an alternative way to find a safe way to come back to peace of mind, body, and spirit, and you feel you need to see a medium, you may be right.

Many mediums double as therapists, bodyworkers, naturopaths, and more. So there may be more than just a message from Spirit awaiting you when you see one. 

A medium may be able to provide clarity, confirm some things you already knew, and promote spiritual healing. 

Whether you're booking an angel reading to ask about life, a soulmate reading to ask about a partner, it's always an exciting and lifting experience. 

So if you're booking a reading for the first time, below are a few things to know to make sure you have the best session yet. 

11 Things To Know When Preparing To Sit With A Medium

1 - Mediums are specialists

Some mediums specialize in communicating with the dead. But that is only one type of spirit with whom a medium can connect. Other types of spirits that people go to mediums to communicate with include: Angels, Spirit Guides, Earth Spirits, Earthbounds and Pets. 

Mediums can specialize in teaching, love, career, or health. These are just a few examples, and these specialties are usually related to their background or personal research interest. 

These backgrounds or interests are listed on their website, sometimes.

To find your specialist, perhaps consider looking for someone who has similar interests to you, or go through a network referral. 

2 - They bring through communications with Spirits in different ways

Mediums can receive intuitions from The Spirit World in 4-6 primary ways, though you are usually predominant in one or two. 

Many mediums are the clairaudient type. Some are primarily clairsentient or primarily clairvoyant.

Clairsentient mediums absorb the feelings as messages from Spirit and make great communicators of emotion from the other side. They can be excellent at validating death. They usually absorb (temporarily) the feelings of however the person they are channeling died to confirm their identity. 

Clairvoyant mediums see images which they can describe as words. Clairaudient mediums are excellent at dates and history, for example, if you need paperwork details from someone who's crossed, sometimes they can help. 

Just know that when you go to see a medium, your medium's gifts may work slightly differently than anything you have seen in the media. So be open. And honestly, I think all gifts all have their virtues. 

Mediums bring through fantastic, though different, types of information wellness tips, intuitive appearances, life plans and charts, your soul purpose, relationship healing information, and much more. 

Stay open to different styles of reading and the value they bring. 

3 - Different types of Spirits bring different kinds of information

Deceased people can help you with tangible-life problems and empathy with your family and personal situation.

Angels generally tend to bring through more philosophical points, sharing higher worldview ideas of your life, rather than telling you what to do. In contrast, Spirit Guides tend to share more of the backstory of what's going on. 

They can all be pinpointed, offering helpful step-by-step information. It's just different focuses of the different energy groups that come through. 

If you have a specific Spirit Group you want to hear from, you can always say a prayer or set an intention the night before your call. Typically, The Spirit World starts planning the information they are going to bring you when the arrangements for you to have the session are being made. 

They can begin to come in the night before or the morning of your session so you may feel The Spirit World around you as your session approaches. 

When you start to feel like you are excited to have your session, now would be a good time to say a prayer or set an intention.

Ask The Spirit World to bring you information or healing that will assist you with X, and this tends to help steer the ship where you want it to go. 

Most mediums usually do this themselves ahead of your appointment. Still, if you have something specific, it can help if you do it too since the process is a three-way link. 

4 - Choose your spirit type or let the medium choose 

Just like most estheticians can perform most types of facials, most mediums can bring through most types of spirits.

In facials, sometimes, it can help to let the esthetician choose your facial after evaluating your skin type. And this may lead to a better facial, and you, the client, are more satisfied. 

Whenever I get a reading, I generally let the medium do their work and choose who comes through first. I find this does tend to make for better readings and then afterward, ask my questions and follow-ups. 

The exception here is if you've been getting readings with the same person for a while. Asking your questions first and co-collaborating on the outcome of a session can be helpful, especially if you need clarity on specific things. 

5 - The deceased's personality may be different than who you thought they were while alive 

Most people expect their parents to be precisely the people they were while alive, and while this is sometimes the case, people change in death. They soften. Their views shift.

Our judgments and pain can color our views of the living, and when we die, we shed all of that so that a Spirit can appear different to people in death. 

Usually, this means the people you love glow and are more loving.

The sense of humor is typically the same. The best way I can describe it is that people show up as most them. They’re usually better.

So if you remember a deceased when they were sick, they may not appear their way for your whole reading.

They may look this way only a short time so you can identify them, and then change shape at some point as they are accepted as the real them. 

Angels, while they typically appear as huge glowing masses, may seem more person-like, and Spirit Guides may sound a lot like people you knew. 

Still, while many will come back to the reading table more compassionate than they were on earth, not all are there yet.

If your person hasn't completed their life review or they're off with an Angel doing something at the time of your session, another Spirit may fill in their place. 

With anyone we interact with on Earth, we only see just a sliver of who they are. People tend to hide their real selves, and if there has been trauma, some people in life, guarded so much against the hurt that we never got to see the real them. 

In sessions, Spirit gets to show you their real selves. 

This real self aspect is something they delight showing you in sessions, and it's one of the reasons why I continue to do this work. But it can sometimes confuse clients, so I just want to lay it out here.

I feel this film helps visually explain the “they’re usually better” part. 

Not everyone changes though - some of the more freedom-loving Spirits are exactly who they said they were, though usually presenting at their most compassionate and loving. 

6 - Spirit may look different or better

Your medium will do the best they can to describe the essence of the Spirit who has come forward to speak with you. 

I usually tell mediums to try to get at least five points of identification. Anything from their accent, their dress, to their gender, to a place near where they lived or died. 

Their coloring and appearance, how they know a person, their species, in the case of Animal Guides, are all ways you can identify energy. 

The deceased and all in Spirit, are not bound to a physical body. So they get to choose their appearance, and many opt for a younger, healthier self, though not always - some opt for the way people remember them, just to be on the safe side.

If this happens, take a review of your old family photos before going to your session to be sure of anyone you think may come, or how they looked, younger. If they had a signature or favorite outfit, they might describe it. 

So before going to a session, try to recount everyone you know, and who may be watching out for you in The Spirit World so that you are less surprised. 

7 - What if the person you want to see at a reading, doesn't show up?

All in perfect timing. 

As a personal story, in my first mediumship reading, I wanted a relative to come through. Instead, a family friend who passed of an overdose came through and commanded the entire reading. 

This friend laid out the basics of everything in my life that had happened since he died and proof he had been watching. 

Surprise, The Spirit World does watch you, but usually in a really genuine and thoughtful way and for ascended reasons. 

It just focuses on the Angel from that movie and his next mission. In this film, the Angels watch a family they have concern over before acting. The Angels look like real people, just like you and me, and they send one down to Earth to help. 

In a nutshell, I've just explained how The Spirit World works and how they send people down to help, sometimes in mediumship readings.

Sometimes whom they send seem to be improbable candidates, but that's part of the point. 

All of us improbable candidates, and our Angels are sometimes our loved ones behaving as such.

Spirit World likes to shake things up. 

But sometimes, if a person hasn't finished grieving or The Spirit World feels there are more urgent messages than the one you had in mind, they will rewrite an entire reading. 

So it occasionally happens that you want to talk to one person and several other persons, Angels or Guides, wish to speak to you first. 

If this is the case, consider yourself a lucky one. 

Take in what you need to take in for the first session and then book a follow-up in a couple of weeks, with that same medium or another. That way, you can assure that all the messages The Spirit World has for you do have their appropriate time and space to get to you.  

If it's your first reading, it's not unusual for a 'primer' spirit to come to your first reading instead of the one you wanted initially.

This spirit's job is going to be to prepare you for more intense future sessions, possibly with someone you were more close with. 

Think of it like getting a chemical peel or like starting retinol. 

For your first peel, the technician tends to go very light. They then progress to deeper peels and procedures as the skin gets accustomed to the process, and as the technician learns about your skin and what it can handle. 

Future sessions may go more in-depth, and like any intensive spiritual work, you may want to stage yourself into it. Readings can be fun, but their general point is sometimes for emotional and mental relief. 

So if you do get some exciting assistance in your first session, I suggest gratitude and happiness for knowing you have such a large Spirit Team. 

8 - if the Spirit you want didn't come, how do you find out where they are? 

If you want to speak to someone directly, and the medium isn't mentioning it - sometimes they are still there. To prevent disappointment with your session, just ask the medium about it. 

In some cases, the energy of the Spirit you want to speak to isn't as strong in presence as the others, and they may get hidden behind some of the larger and more boisterous energies. 

If you think this may be the case, you can try asking the medium to call them forward with their first name.

As long as their energy hasn't waned yet, they'll be able to ask The Spirit World for more details on that individual's whereabouts. 

They may also be able to request their guides to tell you more about why this person may not be coming forward, or they may be able to call them ahead through the crowd. 

9 - Let them know if things don't make sense

Spirit will often speak in metaphors, code words you have with your Spirit team, or through feelings.

Part of this is so that you can maintain some privacy about what's going on in your life. Part of it is because Spirits use something called a Primal Language or Original Language to communicate, which is the language of signs and emotion, not words to speak. 

But if you aren't used to visual or emotional speak, or if The Spirit World is using new analogies, you can ask for another interpretation, and see if it clicks. 

Often, it's just one missed sentence or phrase out of place, and things 'click' suddenly, so it doesn't hurt to say something. It may help. 

10 - You may need another type of session in addition to a reading

Many mediums offer coaching sessions, in addition to their readings. Some mediums will recommend naturopaths or energy healers in addition to The Spirit Work they do and to whatever comes up in your session. 

Need to know what your Guides think about the XYZ project? Your divorce? Need help executing a plan and want your spiritual guidance team's input on it? Starting a business and want to know what to do first? 

Take a bird's eye view and do the coaching. It's like getting your astrology chart read, but with Spirits, instead of stars. 

Coaching or other natural health or energy sessions can help you connect to your intuition and feel like your best self.

If this is recommended after your session, just know it's in a medium's nature to want you to feel good (this is Spirit's goal, so it's a medium's too). They will usually be guided to recommend additional tools to help you achieve this. 

11 - Your medium is there to help you

Grief is hard. So is confronting taboos. So is stepping into your future and best self-life. Mediums want to support you in all of this.

Mediums have seen many things and heard many things, too. So you usually have a safe space with your medium to share the truth.

You can always ask questions or request clarification. If you are looking for specific information, be upfront, know we want to help.

And many, for many years, tolerated maltreatment in various forms to continue to offer their services. This is one of the reasons I feel so many mediums I meet are the most empathetic people you've ever known - they’ve been there in more ways than one.

But because of the past of this field, you can usually trust that most mediums you meet are there because they want to be and that the work they do is related to reasons that go beyond money.

Going into your session, know all readings are different because all spirits are different, and all lives are different.

Still, many core issues we address are the same - these often come down to love and happiness, which we endorse.

Last but not least, you often get what you expect, and expecting a positive outcome may more likely yield one.

To recap, when doing a mediumship reading

• Have an open mind

• Know The Spirit World likes to shake things up and surprise you

• Prayer and intention ahead of time can improve your session

Additionally, some people like to bring a notepad with them to their readings. Some mediums offer complimentary recordings. If you are booking a reading, check to see if yours does, if you'd like one.

Tissues are usually available if needed, and as are restroom facilities. Some mediums also offer tea or water at their location for your comfort.

Some people like to ground before they go to a session, just to clear any emotions so they can focus, and there is research to support doing it can be helpful for the mind too. So if you feel called to ground the night before or before you walk inside, do.

For more information on getting a helpful reading, I like the book:

Movies I recommend in this post to assist with deepening your spiritual understanding pre-reading are:

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• How To Find A Psychic Medium

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