There isn’t a specific chapter in TRUST that deals with the expectations of the sitter (the person receiving the reading), but there are heaps of references throughout the book. After all, the sitter is the focus of a Mediumship reading — no sitter, no reading, even if the reading is for you. If you are not ‘present’ the reading is pointless.
At a recent meeting of our evening Circle, I posed the question to those who were present, “What does a perfect reading look like to you when you are the sitter.” In other words, ‘what do you want from a reading?’
We were small in number on that beautiful warm Summer night, so there was heaps of time for philosophical discussion.
The answers I received were a stark reminder that people turn up to a Mediumship demonstration with quite different expectations.
In our Circle that night, each person gave a different answer. There were similarities, but no two answers were the same. I have to say that this amazed me.
One person said that a very clear description was absolutely necessary so that the Spirit was identified because that message had no meaning without knowing who was delivering it. This person often missed or forgot the message while wrestling with who the Spirit might be — very interesting.
Some people put more weight on the message and others cared more about being reunited with old friends — the message was secondary — all very interesting.
DOES THE PREFERENCE OF THE MEDIUM AFFECT THE TYPE OF READING THE SITTER RECEIVES?
Amazingly, the answer seems to be, no. This question naturally flowed on from the realisation that each sitter wants something slightly different from a reading.
This was startling news. How does the Spirit World ‘arrange’ for a reading to exactly suit the sitter? The short answer is that they do, but the longer answer is that this arrangement seems to work more smoothly with experienced Mediums — so constant practice is important.
Someone once said (jokingly) that readings would go much more smoothly if we didn’t have to have sitters.
The relationship between a Medium and a sitter is a complex one and a ‘good’ reading can often be the result of a Medium who understands this relationship and all its complexities.
In our Circle, when we are in development mode, all Mediums, experienced and beginner, bring through evidence of the continuation of the Spirit after death. The differences in the appearance of the readings comes from the experience of the Medium.
Recently Trevor, our tutor, suggested to one of our Circle that they should open their eyes when they deliver their evidence. The reading went from stalled to ‘flowing’ in the blink of an eye. Trevor understands how important it is to observe your sitter when you deliver information.
In truth, there are a myriad of things happening during a reading and a Medium needs to be aware of all of them. It’s a complicated job and it requires practice.
If you have the ability, you will receive information, but it is what you do with that information that marks you as a successful Medium.
Probably the most import consideration is giving your sitter time to digest the information. This is incredibly important. Sitters can freeze up when they are in the spotlight. This explains why we hear people come up to us after a reading and tell us that they could place the information we gave them — eventually. Naturally, we wish that they had acknowledged that DURING the reading, but maybe we just didn’t give them time enough to work it out, or more importantly, maybe we missed the telltale sign of them realising they did know a Fred, but now they are too embarrassed to say it out loud after vociferously denying all knowledge of anyone named Fred.
Knowing that sitters have a bias towards certain outcomes can help us pick up the early warning signs and deal with the sitter’s requirements.
This would be much easier in a one on one reading where we are free to ask questions — we can hone in on what the sitter wants much more quickly, but during a platform reading we are working with one hand tied behind our backs because we cannot ask questions — we must observe and intuit.
Trust 