An old friend of mine came over for dinner the other night. As a successful psychologist here in London, Susan inherently understands the dynamics of readings - people searching for insights and guidance. And we've often drawn parallels between our professions. The psychologist and the psychic are not as far apart as you might initially think. The similarities can be counted.

But I think Susan must have just had a particularly draining day because that night she seemed to be reaching out as if to say she understood how difficult it must be giving readings day in and day out. I had never thought about it like that and had to admit that I didn't follow her thinking. So, I put myself in her shoes and asked:

Readings - Is that all there is?

To most people, and I quickly realised Susan fell into this category, psychic mediums give readings pure and simple. And while you might to go as far as to call them one trick ponies, you might think that their days begin with readings and that their days end with readings.

Of course, conducting readings (or sittings as they are called in the trade) is our bread and butter. And I'm sure that after a moment of reflection, most appreciate that we are often writers, speakers and possibly teachers. But it's in the field of mediumship that a world opens up that can seemingly have very little to do with what people traditionally think of as readings.

When we think of mediums, the names of John Edward, James Van Praagh, Doris Stokes, Colin Fry and Tony Stockwell spring to mind. They are platform mediums. They stand on stage before a group and bring forth evidence of survival after death by connecting with those who have crossed over. We may also think of a few trance mediums, who allow someone in spirit to draw so close to them that the communication that takes place is not from the medium but rather from the spirit. The work these two types of mediums do is most often still seen as a reading - although we are more likely to call it a dem (demonstration).

But there is at least one other type of mediumship - physical. In the world of physical mediumship there is spirit communication but it doesn't necessarily fit within the confines of what we normally think of as a reading. In fact, quite often there isn't a sitter.

The range of physical mediums is as wide as the types of physical phenomena. But the most common categories include mediums who work with the energy of those who've passed on to move tables or levitate objects as well as those who can cause objects to appear / disappear.

Susan must have noticed the enthusiasm and excitement as I continued to prattle on throughout dinner about what some consider the more experimental side of the paranormal because she then asked more about table moving. I later learned that a mutual friend had told her about another physical medium who could move tables.

And before you knew it there we stood, Susan - a Cambridge-educated psychologist - and me with our fingers lightly touching a wooden table that only moments prior had been my plant stand.

It wasn't instantaneous. To be honest, I thought I might have to explain that it doesn't happen every time when the table lurched to the side. And after she regained her composure, the curiosity and excitement had clearly infected her. We spent the next hour chasing the table all about the living room.

By the time Susan left that evening she understood that there was much more to it than readings.

So, the next time you hear furniture moving about in another room stop and think - it just might possibly be a physical medium who simply needed a break from business as usual!

Until next week,

Kindest regards,

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