MK Gaedeke Roland has studied mediumship, healing, and spirituality all over the world, and I was delighted when she decided to join my first group of advanced Mediumship Level 3 Students.  MK is currently a practicing medium at the Lily Dale Assembly, New York. When she sent this blog with me, I couldn’t wait to share it with the rest of the JVP Community! You can learn more about MK, and check out her other blogs here. Enjoy!  

-James Van Praagh

One of the most difficult things about learning to become a medium is the issue of trust. Most of us drive ourselves crazy as beginners asking — “Did that come from Spirit or is it my imagination?” The first time you are asked to “give a message” your hands go cold, your stomach does a flip, your heart races, and your mind either is absolutely blank (where is that “blank mind” when I’m trying to meditate!!) or racing. A thousand images, words, feelings, even tastes and smells may bombard you. Or not. If you’re lucky enough not to go blank with fear (fear of what?), you try to sort through these images of usually familiar things such as fishing, long walks in the woods, a man with a hat, the feeling of fear, etc. — all of which could be coming from your own imagination. So how do you learn to trust that what you are receiving is accurate and for the person for whom you are giving a reading?

1. 1. • Set your intention. Before you ever begin, set your intention in prayer that you are receiving information for your sitter that is meaningful to him and which he can identify. By setting your intention in prayer and asking your guides and angels to assist you, you are telling the universe and yourself that only that which is for your sitter will come through you.
      • Give what you get. Don’t try to interpret the pictures, symbols, smells, feelings and so forth that come to you. If you set your intention, all of those are meant for your sitter. For instance, if you see a picture of fishing and your family always went to the lake each summer, you might be inclined to say I see a vacation scene of a lake. The sitter probably wouldn’t recognize that because for her fishing was something she did with her father on the weekends to help put food on the table. Giving an interpretation that means something to youalmost always assures it won’t mean anything to the sitter.
      • It feels like I’m making it up. The right brain is the source of both imagination and intuition. It’s no wonder that the information you receive from your right brain feels the same as imagination feels. With time, you’ll learn to recognize the different “feel of ownership.” In other words, what you are saying just doesn’t seem like something you would say because you have no experience or memory of what you are describing, or you would never phrase something in that way, and other subtle clues you’ll learn to recognize over time.
      • I just can’t trust myself. It’s not about you. It’s about Spirit. Spirit is whom you are trusting. Would Spirit lie to you? Try to embarrass you? Want you to fail? Remember, you are trusting Spirit, not yourself. Ego has no place in mediumship.
      • I don’t want to embarrass myself by being wrong. First of all, you should be among friends and supporters as you are learning. If you aren’t — get up and RUN! Find those who are truly dedicated to serve Spirit and you won’t be embarrassed. Second, you probably are correct but you’ve stated something in a way the sitter doesn’t understand or you’ve tried to interpret what you have received.
      • Meditate, meditate, meditate. This exercises the right side of your brain stills the left (logical) side and makes your connection to the intuitive side of your brain more easily and quickly with each time.
      • How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. (Sorry, it’s an old joke). Absolutely nothing will improve your mediumship more than practice. Now, understand that has to be quality practice. You need to be among mentors, developing in a circle, and having teachers who can give you constructive feedback. Perfect practice makes perfect. Bad practice makes, well, bad!

Lily Dale and its churches have many classes to help mediums of all levels continue to develop and hone their skills. Save your pennies and some vacation time if you don’t live nearby so that you can come learn with the best in the world’s largest Spiritualist community.