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I have worked with one on a few locations, as an invited guest. Two were personal homes (wanting an investigator to validate their readings through equipment). The third being a public location that has stories and history to use as a guide. All three experiences were teachable moments in belief systems and the responsibility we have sharing our interest of paranormal.
I had always been intrigued by the psychic world, but stayed in my lane. I did not have the gift of "seeing". Psychic Fairs were a few weekends a month in the 80's. Angel communication, dream catchers and divine intervention seemed to be the theme. Not one ghost hunter or demon chaser was set up in a booth, selling books or services. In fact, the word "ghost" was not used. Instead, angel, guides, energy or souls. It was all about the "Light".
Then the paranormal boomed, stepping out from the shadows. TV shows, movies, documentaries, books, it was everywhere and ramping in popularity. Celebrities to everyday people were investigating ghosts. The sub-culture had become pop culture. As the shows rolled in, so did the psychic mediums. They were used to be the voice of those spirits being lured out by investigators. You had to take their word for it, they were the seers. Spiritualism and paranormal came together to make beautiful drama. Now you see paranormal conventions nationwide, which include tv psychic personalities and those inbetween, while the psychic fairs sort of faded into the background.
Today we have social media to share everyday paranormal team experiences and expertise. Hard to find a team that doesn't have a resident psychic medium or at least one that can be called on the fly. It feels once the medium comes in, the narrative becomes more interesting and the story is built. As an investigator, how much "power" do you give to the medium? This is their perception and interpratation of the location or story. Do you override your own intuition or feeling with that of the medium's? I am not suggesting not to use pyschic mediums, it is a personal choice. There are benefits to having their gifts available to use, if it is a person you trust. Is there something to using your own "muscles" consistently when it comes to intuition? You have to use it to build it. As I stated above, some mediums will ask investigators to help them on location to validate their visions/knowing through equipment. It can be a cymbioic relationship. Maybe the question is, how personal do you want to connect to the location?
My own experience working with a psychic medium and immediate observation is that both the spiritaul world and the paranormal are VERY similar in many aspects. It is how we intrepret what we "feel" that sets us apart. And when working in someone's personal space, 9 out of 10 times the psychic medium is more comfortably believed than their paranormal counterpart. This could be how paranormal is sold, dark and scary and sprituatlism, the light.
The medium I worked with has admitted that she gets nervous and scared while at known haunted locations. Sitting with a client in an office has its obvious differences than walking through darkened hallways in a building, but what reveals itself from behind the veil must be the same or similar, correct? How is the soul of one (a client's loved one) an angel, yet that soul that refuses to stop walking the same path over and over again, a lost soul? Is it in the living person's intrepretation of said energy, that places it in a category? Technically, yes, seeing there is no definitive proof, that any of us in any aspect of spiritualism or paranormal has obtained. Plus, it is personal preception of experience. Most importantly, it is those who (generally the masses) believe which perception that keeps the story alive and well.
It seems it would be benefical and important to at least have a general understanding of every player in paranormal/spiritualism. We seem to be working on our own section of the puzzle, perhaps missing the overall picture. Do we live on after our earthly life is over? Spiritualism may answer confidently yes, while paranormal thrives on the exploration. Like almost everything in society, since the beginining of time, we will never agree how it happens, but we agree, or else we would not be in these fields of interests.
To use or not to use? There may not be a solid answer that should be written in the rulebook of ghost hunting. Hopefully, we as investigators evolve with every investigations, every person met, book read, study explored. Maybe, the real lesson in paranormal is self exploration, in our beliefs and how tight we hold onto them. Exploring the other side, IF we are willing, forces us to hear the living and their differences.
Stay safe. Stay centered.
-Sara V.
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