The Weekly Vibe
A look at mediumship, a short Sitting in the Power meditation, plus this week’s astrology, tarot, oracle guidance, and state of the world reflection.
One of the biggest mistakes I made when I first started exploring mediumship was assuming that somebody else knew the right way to do it.
Like a lot of people, I started looking for teachers, classes, books, workshops, and development circles. I wanted to learn. I wanted structure. I wanted someone to explain what was happening.
Unfortunately, the first person I learned from wasn’t very good at explaining anything. They would give techniques and exercises, tell you to tune in, and then ask, “What are you getting?”
That was pretty much it. There wasn’t much discussion about how information comes through, how to work with it, or what to do when things didn’t make sense.
At the time, it was frustrating because I thought there must be a system I was missing. Then I started watching other mediums.
Some would start by identifying whether the communicator was male or female. Others would establish the relationship first. Some would build evidence before giving a message. Some seemed to have a very specific order they followed every single time.
And I remember thinking, “Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”
The problem was that information didn’t come to me that way. It never did.
I’m what I would call a conversational medium. I learn about the communicator through interaction.
As the connection develops, I begin picking up their personality, their memories, their mannerisms, their sense of humor, and the things that made them who they were. For me, it has always been more like getting to know a person than filling out a checklist.
That doesn’t mean structure is bad. In fact, I think structure can be incredibly useful.
The mistake is believing that the structure is the mediumship. It isn’t. Structure is a tool. It’s training wheels. It’s a way of helping people organize information and learn how they receive it.
The mediumship itself is something else entirely.
Over the years I took classes, attended circles, and explored different approaches. More than once I was told that mediumship had to be done a certain way.
You have to start here. You have to do this. You can’t do it that way.
The more I heard that, the more uncomfortable I became. Eventually I left some of those classes without even finishing them because I realized I was spending more time trying to fit somebody else’s method than understanding my own.
That’s one of the reasons I have mixed feelings about mediumship training.
I believe training can help. I believe exercises can help. I believe development circles can help. But I don’t believe there is only one correct process.
Think about the people in your own life. You don’t communicate with everyone the same way.
You probably have one friend you joke with constantly. Another friend who responds better when you’re direct. Another friend who mostly wants you to listen.
Every relationship develops its own language. Why would communication with spirit be any different?
One of the things that would probably make some traditional mediumship teachers cringe is how often I say, “Does that make sense?”
I’ve heard all the arguments against it. You’re not supposed to ask. You’re not supposed to check. You’re not supposed to do this or that.
But spirit communication isn’t always neat and tidy.
Sometimes information arrives clearly. Sometimes it arrives in pieces. Sometimes I need to sit with something for a moment before I understand it. Sometimes I get the signal before I get the meaning.
And that’s another lesson I wish someone had taught me much earlier.
Receiving information and interpreting information are not the same thing.
You might feel pressure in the chest. That’s information.
The moment you decide it means a heart attack, you’ve moved into interpretation.
You might be right. You might be wrong.
The feeling itself was the information. The meaning you attached to it was the translation.
A lot of development work is really about learning the difference between those two things. Not because somebody else’s method is superior. Because it helps you become more aware of how your own process works.
People often ask me if anyone can develop mediumship.
My answer is yes, with a lot of qualifications.
I think most people are far more intuitive than they realize. I think many people can learn to recognize impressions, feelings, and information they normally ignore.
But I also think being a working medium is much harder than people imagine.
It takes focus. It takes practice. It takes a willingness to step out of your own life for a while and focus completely on the person sitting in front of you.
When I’m doing a reading, my personal opinions, my personal problems, and whatever is happening in my day have to move to the side. The reading isn’t about me.
Not everyone wants to do that. Not everyone should do that.
And that’s okay.
It’s no different than music.
Some people seem to sit down at a piano and immediately understand it. Others have to work much harder.
Neither person is better. They’re simply starting from different places.
The goal isn’t to become another medium. The goal is to understand how your mediumship works.
That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the years.
Before I end this, I think it’s important to say something that often gets lost in conversations about mediumship.
Mediumship isn’t a parlor trick. It isn’t demanding that a spirit show up on command. It isn’t control over the afterlife. It isn’t about proving how gifted, special, or accurate a medium is.
At its core, mediumship is simply the attempt to provide evidence that consciousness continues beyond physical death for those seeking healing, understanding, or even simple curiosity.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
For me, mediumship has never been about performance. It’s never been about collecting validations or convincing skeptics.
It’s a conversation. A conversation between the physical and the non-physical. A conversation between two forms of energy that are still connected, even though one no longer has a physical body.
The methods may differ. The techniques may differ. The beliefs may differ. But underneath all of it, that’s what I believe mediumship is really about.
And if I could go back and tell my younger self one thing, it would be this:
There will always be more to learn.
There will always be another perspective.
There will always be another technique, another teacher, another theory, and another debate about how mediumship should work.
You are never going to reach a point where you know everything. And that’s probably a good thing.
Because the moment we think we’ve figured it all out is usually the moment we stop paying attention.
Mediumship, at least in my experience, is less about mastering a system and more about remaining curious.
The structure can help. The exercises can help. The training can help.
But eventually, every medium has to discover their own way of having the conversation.
David Hanzel
If you ever want a quick, intuitive check-in, I do offer $10 email readings.
You can find that, along with my other resources, here: They Whisper To Me
A Simple Sitting in the Power Meditation
One of the most common exercises used in mediumship development is called Sitting in the Power.
Despite the name, Sitting in the Power is not about controlling spirit, receiving messages, or trying to make something happen.
It is simply a practice of becoming aware of yourself, your own energy, and your connection to the larger spiritual reality that surrounds all life.
Many mediums use this exercise regularly because it helps them become more centered, more aware, and more connected before working with spirit.
For this meditation, there is nothing you need to achieve.
You are not trying to receive a message.
You are not trying to communicate with anyone.
You are simply allowing yourself to relax, expand your awareness, and blend with the larger presence of life itself.
For the next few minutes, let yourself become part of something greater than your everyday thoughts, worries, and responsibilities.
Just be present.
Just be aware.
