I have never… visited a psychic.

When it comes to spirituality, I’ve never been quite sure where I stand. I’ve always questioned whether spirits or ghosts exist, and I don’t quite know what to believe when it comes to the ‘afterlife’. However, a couple of years ago my mum decided to get involved in this whole ‘Mystic Meg’ business, and now, apparently she’s psychic. Being the cynic that I am, I refused to believe her; it’s one thing practicing Reiki on your friends, but saying that you can see or hear things, is a whole new ball game.

 

However, when my mum told me about her friend who’s visiting London for one of her shows, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see how real this stuff is.

 

As I entered the building, I tried to keep an open mind, but as soon as this plump middle aged woman (dressed in what can only be described as a black bin bag with arm holes) walked on to the stage, all my preconceptions came flooding back to me. Surely, this mad looking woman couldn’t hear, or dare I say it, see dead people?! For the first five minutes, all I kept thinking was, ‘when is she going to whip out her cauldron and broomstick?’ however, once I actually started watching her interact with different audience members, I couldn’t help but become engrossed with her ‘abilities’.

 

After about 15 minutes, she spoke to ME, believe it or not. Great, I thought, what a fantastic (and slightly humiliating) way to see if she’s just faking it. To begin with she was particularly vague, and rather cliché, saying things like “there’s a woman… I’m thinking of the letter ‘M’… does the colour violet mean anything to you…” – I think you get my point. However, the more she spoke to me, the more she made sense. I actually started to believe her for a while! Most of the things she said, she probably could have guessed, as her comments tended to sound like a stab in the dark, however, the odd detail would turn out to be scarily precise and it kind of messed with my head a little. Was I just getting a bit too over excited, convincing myself that she was psychic, or did she actually know this stuff?

 

Anyway, she moves on, leaving me sitting there slightly baffled, not knowing what to believe. I look around to see people staring at her in awe – some people were even reduced to tears, and I can see why. I mean, death is a taboo subject as it is, but for someone to claim to be communicating with a dead relative or friend can be a confusing and upsetting concept to adjust to.

 

As I exit the building, I came to the conclusion that I’m still as unsure about this psychic stuff as I was beforehand, and that I simply had a momentary lapse, got caught up in the atmosphere, and I now try to convince myself that this woman is a fraud. I mean, she is being paid for this stuff. Surely, if this was a gift you had, you wouldn’t throw it about, receiving money for it in the process? And better yet, to toy with people’s emotions in that way, without knowing the consequences of what you are saying, is a dangerous game. However, I would suggest for people to let their curiosity get the better of them, like I did, at least once. At least if you witness it for yourself, you can base your beliefs on experience. Unfortunately for me, I still don’t know what to believe.