Lot's of great replies and my suggestion is to LISTEN to people like Mark Lewis, whose been working in the psychic side of things for decades vs. the relative and generally skeptical newcomers .
As Freddie and others have pointed out, Magicians do tend to get this ego thing rolling that makes them believe they know it all and worse, that anything unusual "must be fake". We're talking about the sort of people that took apart all their toys just to see how they worked when they were kids; it's our nature to seek out an answer and when we can't find one that is satisfying, we'll make one up. The older we get the more we try wrapping our "explanations" into more and more believable or "rational" blankets such as "science" the fastest growing religion in much of the world presently.
Long before I every got involved with Mentalism I did private Readings for people (since I was 16), it is something I was exposed to growing up in that certain grandparents and other relatives practiced everything from the Laying of Hands styled healing work to Readings, Dowsing, and making up home remedies and protections. So I have a natural bias when it comes to such things; I've seen them work and experienced some very amazing things as a Reader. The most important fact being that very, very few Readers are in it for the money e.g. those that are, are the one's to watch when it comes to questionable tactics. Not all that are successful in this world are crooks, mind you, but generally speaking the majority of those that you find hustling the consumer are.
But we have a problem here. . . what I look at as being "legit" is frequently looked down upon by the Magic Community (skeptics) because they consider it a form of chicanery. . . even using the structure found in things like Numerology is seen by some as "cheating" because there are psychological connections to numbers that mirror what's been used for centuries, possible even thousands of years depending on which system you rely on. To me, layering a Reading or Report with perspectives found in a person numbers and zodiac and even their hand writing is perfectly honest in that you are using the tools of the trade. . . even when we look at the psychological profiles tied to the human face and body design, we are using natural existing factors that have been used for thousands of years both, by mystics as well as the average human being (though, subconsciously).
What if I were to toss in a Pendulum or Billet?
Ron Martin in his Tarot Reader's Notebook recommends a Pendulum when you find things "stressed" or "blocked" between you and the client. You're not using trickery and while they MAY BE certain analytical explanations around the how & why of Pendulums, there still exists a level of subtle influence that lays outside said claims. Like most of things spiritual and mystical, it does not work like a trained animal or on human whim; but that's where faith comes in and that's the big rub -- cynics rarely have faith let alone the willingness to accept the power of such.
Even if I were to use a billet or some other mode of deliberate trickery so as to discover the issue a client is dealing with, it does not mean that the Reading details are false, only that I'm able to offer a more concise feedback; in the case of a legit Reader using such a cheat, it's typically because the patron is stone walling them either deliberately or because they are that shut-down by life and personal depression. In order to help the client, they must accomplish two things; trigger the mind of the shut-down patron so as to establish an connection, which comes by way of accuracy i.e. conveying insight around the issue (the cheat). This then opens the client up with a willingness to establish rapport with the Reader and PARTICIPATE in the session. Yes, it's a bit underhanded but not always done for the sake of personal ego on the part of the Reader, not the goal of manipulating the client regularly. In this instance we're talking about breaking the ice in order to HELP the patron. . . including the act of pointing them toward professional help. Something most of the better Readers I know, willingly do. We know we aren't qualified to carry a person with deep problems, so we urge them to seek professional medical care when it comes to issues of depression or even fantastic processing.
The Criminal Side of the psychic thing comes by way of those who exploit their patrons, what I call "Anna Riva Psychics" in that they make a Psychic diagnosis that typically entails some sort of curse and then sell the patron all kinds of over-priced rituals for getting rid of the curse only to find a newer, more potent curse or some other such darkness that will require more cash, etc. I've dealt with this type many times and helped authorities when it comes to either bringing them to justice or at least, getting them out of town. Most such operators are literally "Family" operations that operate in a manner similar to what is outlined in the book "The Psychic Mafia" (Lamar Keene). But when it comes to the real world workers, the majority of us are simple, modest and quite giving individuals; Ron Martin's book mentioned earlier, will give you a very accurate picture as to how things are really done in our world; especially when it comes to those of us that know about the trickery and its potential.
Speaking of which. . . you will hear very little in way of positive note when it comes to people within Mentalism that do Readings, it's just something most loathe to speak about because of the assholiness it brings out in others. Recently however there have been some books hit the scene that deal with those of us that work in both world, all three credited to a man named Neal Scryer and published by Richard Webster. Again, you will see how trickery is used in the industry as well as the very real way we work. Other sources include the materials put out by Bill Montana, Jerome Finley and the team of Larry Baukin and Ron Martin . . . there's actually a very long list in that Mentalism prior to the mid-1990s involved Reading work at a far more extensive level and on the more legit side of things. Learning to do an effect Cradle to the Grave type Reading was a standard of Mentalism for generations and some of the top personalities in the field literally had a private office or even storefront via which private sessions were done. So perspective says a lot when it comes to this issue.
Those that don't want to believe in anything will deny it all even if they were face to face with a genuine miracle. They do not want to honestly experience such things and frequently, it's out of fear that they feel this way -- fear of being wrong as well as fear that they too can believe in the ethereal. Fortunately, circumstances have turned more than a few cynics into ardent believers however.
I've rambled on sufficiently and have hopefully given you enough, in way of resource and insight, so as to better understand the reality of this work vs. the hype. There is one more thing I much echo however . . . you keep jumping from point to point to point with things which is only distracting you from what needs to be done -- study & practice. There are not short cuts per ce. Some people may luck into opportunities but it is usually based on their skill level and how they impressed the right person at a given point in time, as a rule however, you must do the foot work and complete the foundation before you can build anything. It's a lonely task but it's one 99% of us have had to face, so stop trying to side-step it all. FOCUS on one obtainable thing such as developing a solid close-up routine or two so you can get a gig at a pizza shop or family dinning house and through that, earn the cash you need for investing into the things you want to do. I can assure you, it's far easier to get started as a magician doing tricks than attempting to be a psychic and doing Readings, especially if you don't genuinely believe (the public can sniff that out).
So there you have it. . .
