Career Options
Is there a psychic career in your future?Do you know before the phone rings that someone specific is going to call? Do you get strong "gut feelings"? DOROTHEA HELMS |
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 [ 2002-07-31 ] |
We all have psychic abilities, but some of us are more tuned into recognizing and interpreting those energies that exist outside the physical realm.
Many talented people feel reluctant to pursue a career based on their psychic abilities because of the widespread stereotypical image of turban-topped, jewelry-laden con artists. In fact, genuine psychics look just like you and me, and work from a deep sense of ethics.
"The word psychic is an umbrella term," explains Josef Peidelstein, who has offered tarot/astrology readings using his psychic ability, as well as teaching, since 1972. "Some people perceive through visual means (clairvoyant), some auditory (clairaudient or audioclairvoyant), and some tactile (clairsentient).
Readers may also incorporate symbol systems such as astrology, tea leaves, Tarot cards, palmistry and I-ching in varying combinations. These are different facets on the same diamond."
Peidelstein says he regards what he does as engineering. "Science provides a framework for my intuition. Then there's the leap of faith; I say what occurs to me. My aim is not to tell people what's going to happen, but to offer clients another way to look at things."
"A psychic's true job is interpretive," agrees Richard Ravenhawke, who was voted the Best Psychic in Toronto in the 2001 and 1999 NOW Magazine Reader Polls. "That person should give you insight into yourself for guidance."
The ordained minister with the spiritualist movement has appeared on more than 300 television and radio programs. He offers in-person and phone psychic readings, plus home parties.
He also teaches spiritual pathworking and psychic development, and is working on an instructional video series that will be available through his Web site. "If you develop your talents, remember that helping people should be your main goal."
Hunter David Williamson makes his living doing psychic readings using the talents he inherited.
"My biological father's grandmother was Etta Williamson, who was an audioclairvoyant in Toronto in the 1930s," Williamson says.
Williamson, who got his start at Toronto's popular Cosy Tea Room, uses both playing cards and Tarot cards, and includes home parties in his services.
Well known in the entertainment world for his accuracy, he has appeared on television shows and counts several celebrities among his clients.
"Study as much as you feel you need to," Williamson advises, "but structure your readings in an organic way using your own ideas. Trust your instincts."
Ruth Murphy of Unionville trusts hers. By the age of four, she "knew things" other people didn't seem to.
"I'm an audioclairvoyant," she says, "and I am recognized by Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment as a medium."
For 30 years, she's been making a part-time living doing psychic readings using tea leaves, cards and palmistry, both in her home and at parties in clients' homes.
For information and education on honing your psychic skills, check out The Learning Annex, the Psychocultural Institute in Toronto and the Omega Centre Bookstore. In the past, Sheridan College has run a course called "Psychic Development" through its School of Continuing Education. Program co-ordinator Judy Travis says it will run it again in the future, and to look for a new course this fall called Spiritual Psychotherapy.
Britain Memorial Church on Lansdowne Avenue offers lectures by numerous mediums. Reverend June Struthers teaches a certificate program that spans four years for those who aspire to be lecturers, healers or clairvoyants, and five years to become a minister. "If you become a professional medium as a vocation," she says, "remember your main purpose should be to be of service to your fellow man."
The Psychic Society of Toronto is a non-profit organization that was established in 1974 and operates out of the 519 Community Centre on Church Street. The Society offers a series of free lectures from September to June on paranormal, spiritual and metaphysical topics.
"We stress honesty and a positive attitude, and we introduce psychics into psychic fairs," says representative Ron Taylor.
"At a psychic fair, you'll find a lot of in-formation flowing both ways," says Donald Nausbaum of Impact Event Management.
His company organizes Toronto's two big psychic fairs every year. "I've been doing this for 22 years to bring people lectures, exhibits, live psychic demonstrations and more."
If you're thinking about a career based on your psychic abilities, remember that integrity is paramount; Section 365 of the Canadian Criminal Code prohibits defrauding clients through false pretenses. Ask questions, read, attend courses and most of all -- trust your innate abilities to help others find the guidance they seek.
(Dorothea Helms (writer@wsws.ca) is an internationally published freelance writer who co-owns a communications firm with her husband.)
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