Psychic Advisors -What and Who Are They?

The word “psychic�? is defined as “mental�? or “of the soul�?, but usually refers to a person’s ability to perceive unseen information, outside of from the five known senses. Sometimes called “extrasensory perception�?, a psychic possesses a form of paranormal ability. While the modern notion of “real psychic talent�? is more widely accepted than ever, a lot of people still deny its existence.

The term “psychic advisors�? has been recently popularized by the multi-million dollar psychic industry, through which psychics provide clients with insights into their future. Some of the most widely known psychic advisors of the past century include John Edward and Sylvia Browne.

Psychic ability and fortune telling skills date back to ancient times, and history shows that many early civilizations closely followed astrology. Those who were able to predict future events without using charts or other methods were first known as “seers�? or prophets, and over time they became known as psychics, or clairvoyants.

From the earliest prophets of the Bible, to the seers who practiced their craft in the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, a sense of awe has surrounded these extraordinary people, and many have sought out their visions of the future. Perhaps one the most enduring historical figures with psychic ability was Nostradamus, a sixteenth-century French apothecary whose predictions are still consulted to this day. Most of his prophetic visions dealt with impending disasters, such as earthquakes, wars, floods, murders and plagues, but none of his predictions were dated. While Nostradamus remains a controversial figure, his fans still credit him with the accurate predictions of numerous world events.

In the late nineteenth century, Edgar Cayce gained worldwide popularity for making a number of highly publicized psychic predictions at a time when Modern Spiritualism had just become a popular. Among several others who subscribed to this movement, Cayce believed he could make contact with the spirit world and communicate with the dead.

While skeptics and scholars attribute the presence of psychic abilities to a combination of manipulate trickery and self delusion, in a 2005 Gallup survey, an astonishing 41 percent of Americans surveyed expressed some belief in extrasensory perception. In the same study, Gallup reported that 26 percent believe in clairvoyance and 31 percent think that psychic, or telepathic communication is possible.

Also, some people believe that a person can inherit a psychic ability, since the talent seems to be present in families from generation to generation. Still others believe that psychic skills can be enhanced, or even activated, by practicing focused mental disciplines, like meditation.

According to 2006 Oklahoma University survey, belief in psychic abilities and the paranormal is more common among college seniors, at 31% and graduate students, at 34%, than it is with college freshmen, at 23%. This study suggests that the higher a person’s education level, the more likely they are to trust in psychic advisors.

People who claim to possess psychic abilities often will try to make a living from their talent, with many of these psychic advisors hosting their own psychic chat web sites, radio or television programs. The recent increase in psychic hotlines, psychic networks, and online psychic readings may have contributed to the industry’s market share, but it has also made it much more difficult to be sure if the person you speak with is really a genuine psychic, or just a fake psychic looking to exploit an innocent public.