Are Mediums born? Or made?

I believe that everyone has mediumistic ability to some extent: but that only a gifted few have the inherent ability to be real platform workers.

What do you think?

Jim

You have me there,Jim.
Haven't a clue,my own gift I feel is 'sensing' and that is not spirit.
Sensing other's feelings,I think it is called Empathy.

Hi Jim,
I believe that any1 can link to the spirit world, the same as any1 can kick a football. I think potential and natural talent becomes the question,,, in the same way some people can kick a ball in the park,, not every1 can be a messi for barcelona,x,x,x

Born then made. Everyone has psychic abilities like 'em or not. Those can be developed hence oodles more psychics than there are mediums about.
Not everyone is born mediumistic and of those that are only a minuscule fraction will develop deliberately and be invited onto Spiritualist platforms to demonstrate. Probably more mediums per capita in the RCs [substitute any big denomination or world faith for RCs] they just either don't know it or keep their mouths shut about it.

Bravo is right too though Any one can link direct to Spirit. A medium is not a vicarious priest. For 1-2-1 with loved ones in spirit or direct prayers and meditation IN Spirit no one needs a medium. Spirit is there for everyone all the time and loved ones will contact whom they can if the link is there. A medium is a third person invited to participate in that process for clarity,evidence and/or public edification.

KatyKing wrote:Born then made. Everyone has psychic abilities like 'em or not. Those can be developed hence oodles more psychics than there are mediums about.
Not everyone is born mediumistic and of those that are only a minuscule fraction will develop deliberately and be invited onto Spiritualist platforms to demonstrate. Probably more mediums per capita in the RCs [substitute any big denomination or world faith for RCs] they just either don't know it or keep their mouths shut about it.

What are RC's, Peter?

Jim

petal34 wrote:You have me there,Jim.
Haven't a clue,my own gift I feel is 'sensing' and that is not spirit.
Sensing other's feelings,I think it is called Empathy.

But you also see images and hear sounds from spirit: clairvoyance, and clairaudience.

Jim

A recent scientific study came up with a magic number on how long it takes to become "world class" at something, be it at chess, soccer, writing or wahtever. That magic number was ten thousand hours. Albeit you would need a bit of latent ability at whatever you put the hours into, but without the dedication needed to put in the hours, you won't reach that "world class" mark.

Platform mediums may not need that much effort to demonstrate competently, but I would suggest that successful physical mediumship, which would be world calss mediumship of a sort, would require that much dedication.

To go back to the original question, talent only gets you part of the way there. So the real gift lies not in natural talent but in the effort, discipline and determination to hone your skills into something that is special and memorable.

Roman Catholics Jim

Spot on Wes. Hence the dearth of top class DV and Trance mediums today. Folk won't commit to the years of development necessary. PK without auditory checkable evidence is another matter. Adolescents [usually girls of the type once wrongly labelled 'hysteric'] can do that usually unwittingly and I suspect some of the genuine phenomena folk like young Milligan effect are of that low order as is much of what passes for proof amongst our cousins the Spiritists.

Wes wrote:A recent scientific study came up with a magic number on how long it takes to become "world class" at something, be it at chess, soccer, writing or wahtever. That magic number was ten thousand hours. Albeit you would need a bit of latent ability at whatever you put the hours into, but without the dedication needed to put in the hours, you won't reach that "world class" mark.

Platform mediums may not need that much effort to demonstrate competently, but I would suggest that successful physical mediumship, which would be world calss mediumship of a sort, would require that much dedication.

To go back to the original question, talent only gets you part of the way there. So the real gift lies not in natural talent but in the effort, discipline and determination to hone your skills into something that is special and memorable.

That's onteresting. I still think, though, that few rise to the top in any field of endeavor unless they are BOTH 1) born with tremendous inherent talent for the activity in question, AND 2) work very hard over a very long period of time to develop it.

KatyKing wrote:Roman Catholics Jim

Ah, I should have recognized that: being raised as one!

Left Behind wrote:

Wes wrote:A recent scientific study came up with a magic number on how long it takes to become "world class" at something, be it at chess, soccer, writing or wahtever. That magic number was ten thousand hours. Albeit you would need a bit of latent ability at whatever you put the hours into, but without the dedication needed to put in the hours, you won't reach that "world class" mark.

Platform mediums may not need that much effort to demonstrate competently, but I would suggest that successful physical mediumship, which would be world calss mediumship of a sort, would require that much dedication.

To go back to the original question, talent only gets you part of the way there. So the real gift lies not in natural talent but in the effort, discipline and determination to hone your skills into something that is special and memorable.

That's onteresting. I still think, though, that few rise to the top in any field of endeavor unless they are BOTH 1) born with tremendous inherent talent for the activity in question, AND 2) work very hard over a very long period of time to develop it.

Indeed, which then leads to the question: Which is more important, talent or appplication, or are they both so necessary that they can't be seperated?

Wes wrote:

Left Behind wrote:

Wes wrote:A recent scientific study came up with a magic number on how long it takes to become "world class" at something, be it at chess, soccer, writing or wahtever. That magic number was ten thousand hours. Albeit you would need a bit of latent ability at whatever you put the hours into, but without the dedication needed to put in the hours, you won't reach that "world class" mark.

Platform mediums may not need that much effort to demonstrate competently, but I would suggest that successful physical mediumship, which would be world calss mediumship of a sort, would require that much dedication.

To go back to the original question, talent only gets you part of the way there. So the real gift lies not in natural talent but in the effort, discipline and determination to hone your skills into something that is special and memorable.

That's onteresting. I still think, though, that few rise to the top in any field of endeavor unless they are BOTH 1) born with tremendous inherent talent for the activity in question, AND 2) work very hard over a very long period of time to develop it.

Indeed, which then leads to the question: Which is more important, talent or appplication, or are they both so necessary that they can't be seperated?

I'd say that they can't be separated. Now, some people may have so much natural talent that they can overshadow one with less but who works harder: or vice versa. But I don't think anyone reaches the top rung of anything without tremendous amounts of both.

I know one woman in Melbourne who is a natural medium, who can identify who is present and pass on messages from them, but the whole process scares her so much that she she's deliberately shut down that side of her. If she had access to proper instruction and support, she could have dealt with the fear and moved forward, so perhaps we could add an extra qualifier to the original question - Are Mediums Born, or Properly Made?

Good point. It's one thing to be able to do it but another to know what to do with what you've got without upsetting either yourself or other people.
I think the rudiments can be picked up pretty quickly, psychic self defence, platform deportment, how to relate to people and confidentiality/safeguarding issues etc. But without the mediumship being there in the first place then it's a waste of time anyone signing up for a one week fast track course or anything else in that line, long or short.
MoD always said...
"You can only give what you get through what you've been given".

Wes wrote:I know one woman in Melbourne who is a natural medium, who can identify who is present and pass on messages from them, but the whole process scares her so much that she she's deliberately shut down that side of her. If she had access to proper instruction and support, she could have dealt with the fear and moved forward, so perhaps we could add an extra qualifier to the original question - Are Mediums Born, or Properly Made?

Good point!

KatyKing wrote:
MoD always said...
"You can only give what you get through what you've been given".

Good motto!

I always remembered the line from the movie Chariots of Fire, about what coaches can accomplish: "We have a saying: we can't put in, what God left out."

Wes wrote:I know one woman in Melbourne who is a natural medium, who can identify who is present and pass on messages from them, but the whole process scares her so much that she she's deliberately shut down that side of her. If she had access to proper instruction and support, she could have dealt with the fear and moved forward, so perhaps we could add an extra qualifier to the original question - Are Mediums Born, or Properly Made?

Perhaps you could refer her to a trained medium who could help her contain and develop her gifts. I think that if she herself asked Spirit they would help her as well. There was one woman in my circle who constantly and unexpectedly received unasked for messages and impressions. The circle leader helped her manage those. It was quite a simple thing to do.

Wes wrote:I know one woman in Melbourne who is a natural medium, who can identify who is present and pass on messages from them, but the whole process scares her so much that she she's deliberately shut down that side of her. If she had access to proper instruction and support, she could have dealt with the fear and moved forward, so perhaps we could add an extra qualifier to the original question - Are Mediums Born, or Properly Made?

Or is the gift handed down to us from forebears?

I was born with my abilities and then as i got older i developed them,so in my opinion

you are born with it,

Namaste

It's in the blood for sure petal. So many families of mediums from the NW and up your way in the NE.
Five and six generations, more in some churches right back to when it first came over from Ameica in 1850s.
Round Pendle there were families doing healing and readings, have been as far back as anyone knows. They all came over into Spiritualism when it got going.
"Safety in numbers" someone once said.

Blackcrow wrote:


I was born with my abilities and then as i got older i developed them,so in my opinion

you are born with it,

Namaste

Hi,me old mate!
Great to see you back.

Petal

Blackcrow wrote:


I was born with my abilities and then as i got older i developed them,so in my opinion

you are born with it,

Namaste

Spot on Blackcrow.
It's not something that can be taught unless it's there in the first place.

KatyKing wrote:It's in the blood for sure petal. So many families of mediums from the NW and up your way in the NE.
Five and six generations, more in some churches right back to when it first came over from Ameica in 1850s.
Round Pendle there were families doing healing and readings, have been as far back as anyone knows. They all came over into Spiritualism when it got going.
"Safety in numbers" someone once said.

My great-grandmother was a medium,KK.
Met her once when I was 16,she came over to the UK on holiday from the US.
I remember her looking at me with those stern eyes as if she knew something,but never said anything.
She was a Yorkshire lady.