Psychic Mediums
Psychic mediums are humans with what is perceived as paranormal power, giving them the supposed ability to view a portion of your future, past or present life. They rely on reading the person in front of them and the energy that is not viewable to others to give their visitors what they believe they have come for. Mediums use clairaudience to mentally hear (faculty of perceiving by sound), clairvoyance to see (faculty of perceiving things), claircognizance to know (psychic knowledge) and clairsentience to feel (psychic feelings only the medium feels) messages from spirits. Being discussed in this paper are many famous psychic mediums like Theresa Caputo, James Van Praagh and Craig Hamilton-Parker. Some may argue that physic mediums are frauds, while some may argue that their powers are entirely real. In my opinion, human ignorance can overpower reality.

As stated prior, many believe that physic mediums are deceptive, as they could easily give an inquirer a very brief message about their future or loved one that may apply to many. However, those who visit a medium and are given these general messages that apply may from then on have an unrelenting faith in their ability. Although there may be no scientific way to prove that their claim is accurate or not, if their declarations do not fall drastically short of the truth, the individual receiving their message would not feel the need to disprove them. How did they find these things out? Who told them? And why are they telling you? Therefore, people that make general enough claims cannot be proven right nor can they be proven wrong.

There are many reasons why people go visit mediums, the most prominent being to hear from their loved ones. They would like to hear how they are doing, how it is wherever they are, and if they have anything left to say. Another reason people go is to inquire as to what their future holds. Some people need to know what they are living for, whether it will all be worth it in the end. Some may believe but would never go to a psychic medium, as they think if they already know their future as well as their purpose in life.

There are many shows, books and websites that attempt to prove that physic mediums’ abilities are genuine. This is great for people who need to closure for the loss of a loved one, or who feel the need to check up on someone they were not ready to lose.
There are also many aspects of media that seek to prove that mediums are not real. For example, a set up could be used in reality television shows. Or how when people host a show or a meeting they receive a list of names of people who will be present. The host could easily search names on social medias or simply search the names until he or she finds a history and list of things they will be able to discuss.

To begin, Theresa Caputo is a well-known famous psychic medium. Caputo has her own show called Long Island Medium. She is a mother who lives in Long Island, New York. Theresa Caputo connects with the dead and helps people find closure through a supposed paranormal connection to their loved ones. The television show depicts Caputo living a normal life but not being able to control the messages she receives from the spirits around her. Once she receives a message from the spirits she immediately feels responsible to contact the individual to whom the message is relevant, and ensure that they are made aware of what the spirits are trying to tell them. Theresa views her abilities as a gift, as do many who have been contacted by her, as they have been able to unexpectedly find comfort from dead loved ones. Theresa is always on the move and as her television show follows a spur-of-the-moment format, she, nor her crew know when she will receive a message from a spirit, giving the show a genuine and not at all scripted appeal. This concedes that psychic mediums may be real and her abilities may be true.

Furthermore, A blogger Cynthia Lawrence who did not believe in physic mediums or anything related to connecting with spirits decided that she would visit just for a laugh. She visited a medium named Joanna, and at first everything she said was a very general statement, such as how she needed to take a break. Cynthia was immediately skeptical, claiming that everyone considered themselves worthy of a break. However, as she started talking about personal family situations; only then did Cynthia start taking the visit seriously. Joanna told Cynthia that she would be going on a vacation with her husband and that she is going to be having two kids a female and a male. She laughed about this because unlike every typical girl Cynthia was not the maternal type and only liked children that she could give back to the parents at the end of the day. Joanna informed Cynthia about how she knew that her parents are together while her husband’s parents are divorced. Joanna than sensed an ongoing problem in the right side of Cynthia’s mothers lower stomach. This shocked Cynthia because Joanna knew about her mothers gallstone issue. After finishing with the psychic medium Cynthia stated, “At the time, I dismissed it as pure guesswork, had a good laugh, and put it to the back of my mind.” A year later without realizing then and there she had been on a vacation just like Joanna said she would. She had also had her first child and was discussing having the second with her husband because that was there plan when they discussed kids. Later on after quitting her full time job she realized how all of what Joanna had said was coming to life.

To continue, James Van Praagh is the author of Talking to Heaven: A Mediums Message of Life After Death. James was not aware of his power until he was in his twenties. In this book he discusses this. He also discusses the clients he has worked with. He has dealt with many grieving family members trying to reach their deceased loved ones. James discusses a mother who lost her young daughter. She came to James to communicate with her daughter and left feeling hopeful and relieved. This book may change the way its readers perceive life, death and physic mediums.

Likewise, Craig Hamilton-Parker, who is also a famous medium, did a live reading while at a spiritualist church. He claimed that somewhere in the audience, someone had had a dog-named Bark, to which an elderly female agreed. He then talked about how Bark had teeth problems and how he loved Christmas, to which the woman agreed enthusiastically. Craig also named many other people that had passed away that the female knew. He let the female know that the dog was having a good time and was playing around with many. This comforted the woman, leaving her in tears of joy. This supports my statement that those who seek reassurance will choose to overlook anything that does not support the conclusion they are looking for. The elderly female came to find assurance that her dog was doing well, and therefore fixated only on what the medium had to say that pertained to her needs.

In addition, a very close friend of mine had just lost her grandfather. Her aunt had contacted a psychic medium to check up on her father. The medium assured her aunt that her father was doing fine and that he was up in heaven with an old friend drinking a beer. The psychic medium also stated his favourite kind. The physic medium then told my friend’s aunt that her father was very upset because someone had missed their dentist appointment. This was shocking because she knew her daughter had missed her dentist appointment, as she had always gotten her grandfather to drive her. My friend’s aunt is continuing to visit this psychic medium because she finds comfort in getting updates on her father and making sure he is still watching over all of his family and loved ones.

Finally, Some psychic mediums will refuse to be tested in laboratory experiments. Unlike those physic mediums willingly two decided that they were confident enough in their abilities for them to participate in an experiment held by Goldsmiths University. “Two professional mediums were unable to demonstrate their psychic powers in a test under laboratory conditions at a university”. Both psychic mediums Patricia Putt and Kim Whitton made careers from their paranormal power. They had both accepted the experiment offered by a set of scientists from Goldsmiths University. The experiment was to identify five characteristics of five randomly chosen humans. The physic medium sat on the other side of the screen. The head of Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Professor Chris French, designed this experiment. Despite both physics medium being very confident in their abilities, they were only able to identify one characteristic, or none at all for the five selected individuals. Even though neither were able to pass the test, there was one sitter who the physic medium said exactly “She mentioned very specifically something I had been actively thinking about during the session, she hit it right on the dot, name and everything. That shocked me a bit. ‘Also, the South America comment struck me – I'm planning a trip there.” Therefore, some may be shocked by certain mediums accuracy but some outcomes may rely entirely on chance.

Others may not believe in psychic mediums based on what religion or background they come from. Some religious beliefs lead people to think that any communication with the spirits pertains to interaction with the devil, and such individuals therefore do not trust anything related to them. While, others may simply believe that anything they say or do is false and fake. This is because they believe that no one can predict the future or see the past and present. The skeptics stand by the claim that what mediums tell their followers always seem to be very broad and easily apply to many. For example, in the bible is says “the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten” (Eccl 9:5). This means that Christians believe that it is not intelligent for humans to attempt communication with the dead, for they may not know whom they are communicating with because as they cannot directly communicate with their loved one, they cannot be positive that they still entirely their former selves – their perception may be jaded because their need for closure overpowers their judgment.

In conclusion, there is no way to prove if psychic mediums are real or not. If one believes they are real, it may be through their decided ignorance, and if one does not believe they are real, skepticism is supported by the observable generalizations that mediums seem to use. People find comfort in believing they are commutating with their deceased loved ones and making sure they are doing well, and therefore will choose to remain blind to any opposing details. Those who do not believe in the power of mediums will rely on their alternative methods of coping, and may accept the idea of a medium’s psychic power in the future, just as people may change religion upon achieving different levels of self-discovery. Just as those who turn to religion in moments of despair, individuals may turn to mediums when they find themselves in need of reassurance. The human need for comfort and how it is obtained cannot be proven or disproven, and therefore neither can a medium’s abilities.