When Do You Help? What are the Ethics of Psychic Ability
I have run into this question many times over the years and it has caused a lot of stress for psychic people. Perhaps they’ve just gotten information about someone and that information could help that person, but it requires the psychic person to take action based on no more than a feeling and take the chance of looking like a paranoid idiot for meddling in the affairs of others.
Do you do it?
I have run into this problem with healing work. It is a gift and it can help people, but it requires time and effort on my part and I have to decide what to do. I see people who are sick occasionally and I feel for them. Do I volunteer my time so that they can get better?
It is quite a dilemma. Many psychic people feel that this gift was given to them for a reason and that they are required to use it to do good. Other people find that the possibility of blow back from someone who didn’t want the information and might ridicule them is too much of a personal risk. This is particularly hard if they have been hiding their psychic ability. I understand both points of view. They have their merits.
I decided a long time ago to limit my psychic healing to those who either asked, or were already close to me in some way. I don’t go out of my way publicize that I’m a healer. I don’t like the weird looks and skeptical crap that sometimes comes with talking about it. So I’ve made the decision to only do it if I feel like it.
The problem we can have if we go out of our way is that we might not be appreciated for our efforts. If I do healing work on someone with cancer for instance, and they get better, I’ll be last in line for getting any credit. All the other stuff people are doing to get better will get credit before me. It’s not personal, it’s just that it is very hard for others to imagine and then evaluate what good I’m doing. There is no data or established system for what I do and I can’t promise anything or point to anything specific as being the thing that did the trick, so I have little enthusiasm to pursue this except with family and friends who can appreciate what I do.
People who get psychic images have similar issues. The one single thing we have to come away with is feeling good about what we’re doing. It doesn’t take much rejection before we get discouraged. This matters even in a situation involving ethics. We cannot take care of others if we are not taken care of ourselves no matter how important it is for someone else. If we’re not getting something out of the arrangement, then ethical arguments are going to be purely theoretical.
We do have a part of ourselves that will not allow us to go long without looking out for ourselves. Unconsciously if necessary, we begin to dig in our heels and resist if we’re not getting something out of what we’re doing. I think that actually goes for a lot of people, psychic or not. We have to choose a method that works for us and for this reason, I cannot tell anyone exactly what the ethics are. What I can tell you, are the questions you should ask:
1. What do I get out of this? While this might seem selfish, it’s necessary. It does not have to be money. I do this blog because people read it and because people share their lives with me. It’s that last part, the connection that I get when I find that others are going through the same stuff and that my writing about it is helping them, that really does it for me. It’s my payback.
Note that this is a win-win situation. Just because I get something out of the arrangement doesn’t mean that someone else is losing.
2. Is this something that I want to do? “Should” is not the same as “want.” Know the difference. Fear of not doing something is not sufficient motivation. The problem with being motivated by fear this time, is that you’ll also be motivated by fear next time. It just never ends. Where it really becomes a problem is when you have to give someone some information. You have to feel sure of yourself and convey confidence if you want the message to be believed. You can’t do that if you’re hesitant about what you’re doing.
3. What is motivating me to take action? Sometimes, we just get the urge to help and it is the right thing to do, no second guessing. In those cases, Source, Essence, God or whatever you want to call it is sending a strong message to act. Of course in those situations, it’s always appropriate. That’s why we’re getting those signals. But if we hesitate and we’re not sure of what to do, then it gets more complicated. At that point, we have to stop and examine our motivation.
In the end, you have to decide for yourself. If you’re getting something out of it, if it’s something that you want to do and it fulfills you, then it’s probably OK to help. If helping others is leaving you feeling drained, then perhaps you should explore what’s going on in more detail.
Re what to bring up to another person when they’re not asking: in regular therapy, people come in with something they want to work on, and if the therapist also notes that they have other issues, it’s not considered helpful to bring up what YOU think the person should be aware of, but what they want to work on. Because you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. The client has to be willing….
In psychic work, I think someone has to be willing to pay for a session, or you’re giving them info/advice they didn’t ask for. It’s invasive. Unless you Get The Message to tell someone, even some passerby, something important, felt as a compelling impulse…at least for me that’s very very rare. Anyone who gets accurate and specific insights for people on a regular basis would probably want to be doing that professionally, it is so helpful and rewarding. Same with healing work, but one of the best healers I ever ran into made his living as a mechanic, a famous mechanic because he could just walk by a car and it was better–he had a magic touch with German cars. I asked him why in the world was he a mechanic when he was such an incredible healer, and it was that he didn’t want the responsibility, the people it would draw.
Those are excellent points. I found out long ago that unless people pay they really aren’t going to value what I have to offer. And if they don’t value it, don’t give it to them. For that reason, I’m doing handyman work rather than healing. People value what I do.
I enjoyed reading this blog post. I just wanted to comment to say that it is not an obligation, any more than painting, or writing music, or being a great handyman is if this is where your talents lie.
I understand the feeling of rejection and dismay you might find if your efforts to help someone were rejected or worse – ignored once they were successful.
But if you begin by offering your insights to people you know will be okay with it; and get feedback from them that lets you know it helped, eventually your confidence will build to the point where you no longer worry about how it looks or how you might be perceived. You just do it because those worries fade when you know you’re helping. The reward comes in knowing that you made some difference, even if it wasn’t enormous.
But obligation? No. I think you do what you are led to do, and what makes your life function best.