Question to Erin Pavlina.

[Niki]

Question to Erin, but all others may answer as well of course.

I'm trying to get some insight in Psychic readings and of course after you do some "online" research you quickly encounter "cold reading". I also know that the arguments on both sides so to speak are highly populated and that proof is far to seek.

In my opinion it is as much as possible to do a Psychic reading than that it is not possible. Some Psychics could be real, others could be cold reading and others can think they are real but are unaware of them self being a cold reader.

My question now is. How do you prove that you are not unconsciously cold reading, instead of doing a psychic or intuitive reading?

I'm not asking this as a defender of any of the 3 viewpoints. I'm just looking for answers. And I ask primarily Erin because I got access to Erin trough this site, and because she looks/is like a trustworthy authority on Psychic readings.
Thanks in advance

[Savage]

You find a competent psychic the same way you would any other professional -- doctor, lawyer, web developer, auto mechanic, etc. The process is really no different.

People are skeptical about doctors, lawyers, and mechanics too. There are frauds and quacks in every field.

Ultimately when you find someone good, you'll tend to stick with that person for a while as long as they continue to meet your needs and don't violate your trust.

You're at a bit of a disadvantage if you're only looking for a one-time service (medical, legal, psychic, or otherwise). In that case you'll probably need to rely on referrals and do your own homework.

[Brutha]

How do you prove that you are not unconsciously cold reading, instead of doing a psychic or intuitive reading?

If a psychic that claims to work intutively can pick up the issue that trouble a person in his life unconsciously through subcommunication and package them into a strong narravtive that get the person to face his deep rooted problems and overcome then, is the person a fraud?

It similar to asking whether a freudian psycologist is "real".
At the end of the day, the question is whether the interaction helped you not how it was done.

[Niki]

@brotha

Actually it does matter. Because cold reading is not only about picking up an issue, but about picking issues that every person could believe he has.
Cold reading is a lot about saying things that feel like they are true, but could appeal to everybody. If that person then feels that the psychic is a real one, and starts accepting things that are not true, then he could have problems that was not there before he spoke to that psychic.It's the same for psychologists.although they have nothing to do with what I'm looking for.

In the end of the day it is important that you ARE helped, not that you THINK somebody helped you because you could be left behind worse then you where before. And it does matter how it is done. If people start lying about how they helped other people, then there are too many people that are going to think that that one method works, and then too many people are going to try that faulty method.

[Erin Pavlina]

Niki, validation is an important part of any psychic reading. That's how you know the information coming through is from the other side and not the psychic's own mind. This is why for my readings I tell people not to tell me anything about themselves or why they're calling. Validation can come in many different ways. Sometimes I'll get a personal story of something that happened to my sitter like when they were a kid. Sometimes the guides will channel a message to me word for word and when I tell my sitter they are stunned to hear that the message was what they wrote in their journal just last night. Sometimes a deceased person will come through with some specific details like, "Tell her she had a doctor appt next Tuesday at 2pm and I'll be with her." or, "Tell her I can see the tatoo she got of my face on her back and it's a beautiful tribute to me." Or whatever.

With cold reading you can't take a stab like that because it's too easy to be wrong. So instead you give vagaries like, "You are normally a very loving person but sometimes you just get really mad." Wow, how wonderfully insightful (not!).

But it's not cold reading when you say, "They're telling me your sister just lost her baby boy after he spent 3 months in the NICU and at the funeral her older son read a poem in tribute to the deceased baby entitled, "I'm still your older brother."

The best thing to do is what Steve said. Get referrals and try it for yourself.

You may enjoy reading my blog entry, Psychics are Like Doctors for more on this.

[Niki]

Thankyou for your extended answer. (or how do you say this in proper English)

[Erin Pavlina]

You said it correctly.

[Brutha]

Cold reading is a lot about saying things that feel like they are true, but could appeal to everybody.

Cold reading is about more than saying things that could appeal to everybody.
Cold reading has a lot to do with perception. It doesn't matter for example whether a number like 3 months is right. If it were 5 months the success of the reader would probably be just as good. And the person would be just as impressed that you know about her baby boy being in the NICU.
And that person would tell afterwards his/her friends that the reader said 5 months.

For a cold reader it's certainly possible to pick up on self esteen issues and a lot of other things.
If you believe Understanding Human Relationships
there is a no personal problem that a good cold reader shouldn't find because people project out their personal problems.

Cold reading is about trying to understand the other person better than the person understands her/himself and making guesses where the person doesn't notice if the reader is wrong.

If that person then feels that the psychic is a real one, and starts accepting things that are not true, then he could have problems that was not there before he spoke to that psychic.

If you talk to a real psychic who forcasts the future via tarot, that psychic could still give you bad advice on your life.

If people start lying about how they helped other people, then there are too many people that are going to think that that one method works,

What do you actually mean with the word lying?
Is the pharma company who sells a product that is placebo blind tested but works in a lot more complicated way than the person who designed the drug lying?
Does it matter whether the pharma company know that the way the drug works is that it doesn't work through the easy process that the drug designer intended (and that happens a lot)?
That would be similar to the cold reading who isn't aware that he is cold reading.

The focus should be on whether people are actually helped by the process.
Especially for those psychics who think they do more than just channeling, helping the person who gets the reading and accuratly forcasting things are two different issues.