You hit the nail right on the head with that idea, bizaree.  We all have talents, skills, abilities and some will be stronger than other within ourselves.  The ones we develop will, of course, shine through.  And if we are going to compare ourselves to others, some will shine more than others in various talents and skills.  The secret is to only to our own development and be the best we can be for ourselves.

I think I replied to you on another post but I have something more for you. I tell you what a real medium is. They are kind, attentitive and take their time sometimes a while. I see these mediums like Colin Fry and Derek Agora run hundreds of pieces of information at such speed. How do they hear it and translate it so fast? Frauds in my humble opionion. Those that are gentle, and they will be gentle as you need to be sensitive, you will know them. Quiet and kind and will take their time if not struggle at times for answers, but will not ask you many. They are real if they get a few impossible to know questions. This is what I believe.

Take care. Good your open minded and not gullible. Its a quality.  Don't feel bad for it. Theres nothing wrong in your questioning.

The value of something given is often weighed by how much it costs.  Something for nothing can (and often is) nothing.  It is just not the best way to check out a medium.

All life is about energies.  We each need to resonate with a particular person to gain a lesson from them or give them one.  Those TV psychics are about one thing....entertainment.  If it is not getting entertainment ratings, then the show is cancelled.  Hence, John Edward in the US is now gone.

To charge or not is a big issue and is just not the only answer to some of the questions around mediumship.  Sometimes the Spiritualism centres charge to do a fundraising for their spiritual activities.  And sometimes a minister supports the church through these efforts.  The issue is not clear cut and dried.

A wonderful British healer who wrote the book on healing once said:  The first gift of the spirit is healing.  I paraphrase to It is the only gift of the spirit.  We need to be treating each other like a healing.  That is why we are called upon to read in the first place.

Oh I do understand they may be a need to charge sometimes. Halls cost money after all to run an event. Dont get me wrong. But something that is to do with bereavement is something so sensitive that deals with people emotions I dont think its right that some people charge as much as they do.  If you are good, people will give you a donation. Some places and some mediums charge quite a bit of money. I see that some mediums charge something like £30 for half an hour or a pound a minute!!!! A staggering figure.

In Canadian $ that translates to approximately $2 or $2.25 per minute.  And that is high in psychic standards.  The going rate at the psychic fairs is about $80. and if they go 40 minutes to an hour thats not bad, but still on the high side.  

The churches tend to go around $50. or $60. for a reading that is at a minimum 40 minutes and often lasts much longer, depending upon the needs of the client.  This is just my experiences with charging and keeping it real and in line with todays marketplace.