Supermarket Psychics – Perhaps a little too mainstream!

A couple of years ago I was in Selfridges, one of London’s leading department stores. It was what I call one of my strategic shopping strikes – get in, get the goods, and then get out. As a frequent shopper, I know the layout quite well – essential knowledge given how crowded it becomes on weekends. But on this particular Saturday, I was in for a surprise.

I was on the ground floor and making tracks for the Duke Street exit when I saw something that literally had me stopping in my tracks. It was a sign that read – Psychic Readings Available Here. And true to its words there was a psychic in situ to read for you right there and right then. In the midst of shoppers coming in and shoppers going out and the cacophony of the banging DJ, the queue had formed. And a trend, it would seem, had begun.

It’s now 2006 and the psychics are still at Selfridges. And what they have to offer has expanded. For example, the Selfridges psychics will help you with your shopping, matching clothing and other purchases to your aura. But Selfridges isn’t flying solo. High street psychic services seem to be catching on.

I have just learned that Harrods – arguably the world’s most famous and exclusive department store – offers psychic readings in their Urban Retreat section. (For those of you who don’t know the store that’s just between the perfumery and the hairdressers.) And there’s something of a buzz about this because the psychic in-residence purports a 3-month waiting list.

I must admit that I don’t know the psychic at Harrods or any of the team that work at Selfridges or any other major shopping centre for that matter. But I cannot help but wonder whether this setting is really the best place for a psychic reading.

Linking with and interpreting the energy of another person – the essence of a reading – is a delicate process involving subtle skills. It requires concentration, a lack of distractions and a relaxed and open mind by the person being read. Anyone who has ever visited Harrods will be familiar with the torrents of tourists and swells of shoppers elbowing and jostling to walk past the dubious Diana and Dodi shrine, glimpse the golden Sphinxes or buy some tasteful trinket which they can swing in their Harrods bag on their way back to Heathrow.

When I read for my clients, one of the first things I ask them to do is to take some deep breaths to help them to relax. This not only allows them to put their hectic lives on the back burner but it also opens their aura and facilitates their reading. In my house, I have a room set aside especially for my readings. It’s a safe, secure and very spiritual place. Quite a contrast from the energy that must accompany those searching for the perfect scent or stressing about how their haircut is going to turn out. In such an environment, I just cannot see how a substantive psychic connection could take place.

I’m sure that those who give readings in department stores like Selfridges and Harrods are truly gifted individuals and have been rigorously screened and vetted by these respectable stores. And I’m all for society becoming more supportive and welcoming of spirituality in which psychics and intuitives of course have an integral part to place. However I question whether this latest development – psychics in shopping centres – isn’t pushing psychics into a forum for which we aren’t best suited and one in which we all too easily become targets for ultimate trivialisation.

To be sure, Harrods, Selfridges and stores of their stature set trends that are followed, imitated and emulated. So I ask myself where will it end. What’s next? Supermarket psychics at Costco, Tesco and Wal-Mart – readings on offer between the fruit and veg and the meat and cheese counters?

Perhaps it is possible to go too mainstream.

If you find yourself in London doing a little shopping, you should consider popping into either Harrods or Selfridges to give one of these psychics a try – and then let me know how it goes. If, however, you cannot make it to London or would prefer a reading where the setting, atmosphere and overall environment of the reading are considered essential components and vital aids to achieving a real connection, then you might like to consider a different form of reading with me. Learn more about my psychic services and readings here.

As always, feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions or feedback on PsychicBridges.

Thanks again for all your support and until next week,

Kindest regards,

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