Tuesday, December 23, 2008 4:00pm
I just read in Florida Today that Fort Lauderdale, FL authorities are looking for a self-proclaimed psychic who scammed five women out of nearly $65,000.  35-year-old Gina Marie Marks told the women she would rid their money of demons that brought them bad luck.  The women gave Marks the cash for a spiritual cleansing and they never saw her again. There might be additional victims.  Marks wrote the book “Miami Psychic” in 2006 under the name Regina Milbourne.  Anyone with info should contact Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

I thought, “this kind of thing is in the news often enough that I wonder what kind of person does NOT know it’s a scam?”  This is the type of thing that happens most often among the “storefront psychics”, the ones with the giant hand in the window, offering a $5 or $10 reading.  You go in, you get the cheap reading, then either before you leave, or the next day if she has your phone number, she will begin to get a message that someone has put a hex or spell on you, and she will need $50-$100 to remove it for you.  By the time you say no, she has said enough words to make you anxious and afraid and wonder if what she says is true.  Curiousity often gets the better of you if you’re not paying attention.   If you are not hip to this routine, it’s classic.  Then of course you’re hooked and she’ll suggest you bring her money to bless and rid of demons.  And so often people are so embarrassed they got duped, and by a psychic of all people, that they just don’t report it.

In all professions, there are people who are qualified and people who lie about their qualifications.  There are people who are reputable and have integrity, and there are those who have learned what words to say to make someone think they are reputable and have integrity.  There are psychics who can give you detailed information that they had no way of knowing, including names, and there are readers who give 90% of their clients the same generalized, non-specific info that usually fits 90% of their clientele.  I can’t think of how many readings I’ve gotten by “psychics” that gave me absolutely no concrete info whatever, and that gave me broad strokes that would apply to a lot of people – but not to me.  A lot of them have a good rap and it’s easy sometimes to get caught up in the story they weave.  But accurate and relative to my own life?  Those have been very few and far between.

But it’s always good to remember that the client attracts the reading they get.  That’s why it’s good to always spend advance time getting clear on any matter you seek guidance on, whether from a conventional therapist or a psychic counselor.  Think it through.  What information do you seek?  To get the best reading, ask yourself the superficial questions first, and give your intuition time to bubble up some thoughts for more detailed questions to really get at the heart of the matter.

If you take advance time to get clear on just what you seek guidance on, you will attract a more relevant and accurate reading.  And the more you get clear, you less you will attract phony psychics or irrelevant guidance.  Use your head.  Seek guidance if you wish, but get several references from people you trust, not just whoever advertises the most in your area, and who says they are the best.

Recognizing you have your own inner guidance available to you 24/7 is of course the best remedy for all of that, but yes, I know – one step at a time.