A Sceptic.

Let's talk about sceptics

What is a sceptic? It is a doubter and a critic. I also have a sceptical attitude to things at times. If there is something I do not understand I always put it on hold until such time it is either proven or disproven. It does not become part of my reality immediately. There have been countless times when my belief in the spirit world and my work as a medium has been challenged. Why has my work been challenged? Because even today to believe in the spirit world is a highly controversial subject especially when you work as a medium and you state that you can have contact with friends or family that have passed on to another level of consciousness.

How do I work as a medium? I was trained under the guidelines of Spiritualists? National Union of the United Kingdom to which I am a diploma holder as a demonstrator and a speaker. Part of my training to become a medium was to be able to channel proof of life after death. In essence what happens is that a spirit or spirits will communicate to me pictures, feelings and words that will give proof as to their identity when they were living in this world. Very often the recipient of that communication will understand straight away, but on occasions it is impossible for the recipient to remember everything therefore it is essential that they can check up the given information with family and friends etc. Quite often this research proves to be successful.

In all my years of working as a medium I have never been able to bring forth a spirit person on demand. That is not decided by me who wishes to communicate through me. That kind of planning and preparation is the responsibility of the spirit world. My job is just to allow myself to be used as a neutral channel. It is not my job to analyse or understand the information; it is just to give and to check with the recipient that they understand or recognise the information given. The only information I need from the recipient is that they either recognise or do not recognise the information given, but under no circumstances should the recipient give me any kind of information about the person or persons coming through. A medium should not ask questions regarding who the person might be to the recipient.

It has never been my job as a working medium to give people advice on their daily problems or help make decisions for them. When I work as a medium I do not incorporate past lives or advice on health problems and I do not consider myself new age. The word new age incorporates so many areas. Mediums have been around since time and memorial before the word new age was ever used. However very often during sessions with me it can arise that the person has a problem they have to deal with that does not fall into the framework of my own skills or experience. Should they need expert help I have a network of skilled and educated people that I can use for referrals. This is a very simple explanation on how I work as a spiritualist medium.

I have met many sceptics during the course of my work as a medium. Before I do any kind of medium work I always explain as I said above that I am just a neutral channel and that I do not decide what spirit will come through or what the spirit will talk about. Many sceptics have come to sessions with me and told me that they do not believe in what I do, and my reply to them is; make your decision once I have given the information from the spirit contact. It is not my job to make the recipient believe. My job is just to convey the information and it is the recipients right to decide what they want to do with the information given.

Each message a medium gives contains information that hopefully will offer the evidence that normally has a unique content that that person can recognise. Many skeptics or different bodies of people that challenge a medium have preconceived ideas as to what evidence should be. The kind of evidence that comes through a medium from a spirit cannot be put into a series of categories. As I have already said each message given has its own unique character. Therefore when my sceptics challenge me to accept their challenges, do they know the difference between intuition and mediumship? When they want me to accept their challenges regarding my abilities, are they saying that they have the license on truth? Can they dictate how it should be? Scientists, intellectuals, philosophers, businessmen and ordinary sceptics. As I have already explained I cannot determine what comes through when I work as a medium.

Many of the sceptics who have done their utmost to defame or to destroy my reputation by comments they have made on the internet, in chat rooms etc, they have accused me of using a method known as "cold reading". What is cold reading? It is when a person can just look at somebody´s body language, facial expressions etc. and that in itself gives the medium the information that is supposed to come from a spirit contact. Should this be the technique I am using, my greatest critics flatter me. That I can just give names, dates and details etc. by just using this technique.

It is my personal belief that there is life after death and this philosophy has brought quality to my life because it has enabled me to find my way of believing in god. That is my truth, but my truth does not always rest well within the framework of another individual´s or a group´s belief system. It is the individuals right to find their way to believe in the concept of a higher power.

The established religions of our world and their ensuing philosophy equally have something of spiritual value to offer. There is no one truth. When mankind crosses a line and someone?s truth is used as a tool to manipulate or coerce others into believing in their way that is when I believe they have crossed an indefinable line and gone into self-righteousness and that is when the ego activates. What do I mean when I use the word they? Everybody, including myself can fall into this trap, without at times realising it.

I think it is necessary that there are sceptics because every time my way of believing or working is challenged it offers a golden opportunity for me to go inwards and do a check with myself to see if I have gone off track. In the world of mediums there are those who can trick, those that can attempt to coerce, and there are those that believe that their truth is the only truth very often making people dependant on them. If my belief was not challenged I too could lose my way. So the healthy sceptic can offer great insight. What of the sceptic that crosses a line and turns something into a personal crusade where the purpose is to slander and defame. Is it truth they seek? Why in their pursuit for truth do they need to turn something into a personal vendetta? What personal issues are they projecting I wonder? I have been accused of being a parasite, a fake and somebody that lives of other people?s misery. That is for the individual to judge. My intention is to do my utmost to be a clear and neutral channel for mediumship. My name has often been mentioned in chat rooms. My image has been shown on websites. And my clairvoyant demonstrations have been secretly recorded and filmed and then the content of which has been distorted by the sceptic. Why do they have to hide in the shadows? Why do their techniques have to be so cowardly? Are they not sure of themselves. These people are seemingly respectable people, people in some cases of high social standing; in the world of science, business and religion. They have been very active, what is their real intention?

I remember a time some years ago when I was doing a clairvoyant demonstration in Eskilstuna where a young, red haired woman, very well spoken wearing clothes of quality bought my book after having paid for entry. Shortly after that a recording and text was put on the internet of that particular clairvoyant demonstration also making comment of my book being a hodgepodge of new age drivel. Some time ago I was surfing the net and up came the image of that woman again. If it was not the same woman she has a double. I remember when selling the book to that woman I had a very strange feeling about her and why had she come to the clairvoyant demonstration.

People say that I have never accepted a challenge of having my abilities checked out. That is not true. I have been a part of dialogue and experimentation with an eminent scientist. This individual informed me that in their world all research is based on probability and if a 55% success rate is achieved that is considered a success. Perhaps I can say the same of myself that I too work with probability. What do I mean? It is not just enough to receive the communication from the contacting spirit there is also a skill in how it is presented. My critics have said that when I work in a public situation my work can be very general and to the listener that can appear so especially when they never knew the contact coming through, but the listener will never be aware of the little nuances that only the recipient will understand. The clairvoyant demonstration is not a place to air sensitive and intimate information.

Let´s also talk about the question of morality. We read daily in the newspapers or receive information through other forms of media that at every level of society exists the human stain known as moral corruption. We just have to look at the current economic world crisis that was born from greed and speculation. As a consequence many ordinary everyday people are now suffering. Leaders often make the wrong decisions and can also be corrupt as we often see. That kind of flaw runs through every area of society. Everywhere we look we hear people say: we have the truth our way is right, but I as a medium do not say that. It is the individual?s decision if they want to buy a ticket or pay me for a private consultation.

It has been stated on the internet that I am filthy rich. The income that comes into my company provides employment to six people. The philosophy of my company is to create a place were people can come and experience something new about themselves. I am told that it can lead to them achieving a better quality of life. So my message to my critics is this; that every time I appear on TV or work in any public situation I am always putting my neck on the line. Putting my self in that vulnerable situation where whatever I say will either be accepted criticised or condemned, but at least when I do that I am showing myself. I am not hiding behind a veneer of so called respectability, knowledge or social standing and for those of you who read this, who have benefitted from my work, I am happy for that. And for those of you who remain non believers that is your right. I have no wish to convert you. I have no wish to embark upon a fanatical crusade where statements that I make are only there to damage or humiliate someone because they do not believe in my way. I am just doing what I believe in. I have found a way of living in this world that is right for me. We live in a world full of diversity and it is not an easy task for the individual to find their place. As a child I was taught the philosophy of Jesus Christ, a beautiful philosophy, one that in many respects I still adhere to, but I can admit that it is one thing to believe in it, but it is a completely different ball game to live it. So to my critics; I think it is very important that we remind ourselves everyday and ask ourselves this question; am I walking my talk?

Terry Evans