Please see my post on how to go about picking a qualified reader here.  Now that you have selected a reader, how can you get the most out of your reading?  Getting a great reading is not only about picking the right reader, it is also a two-way street.  Here are some things to keep  in mind.

• Come to the session with an open mind and be willing to receive information.  It is one thing to be skeptical, it is another thing to be close-minded.  If you are coming to a reading for the wrong reasons, such as to play games with the reader, don’t do it, it is a waste of everyone’s time, and money.  Come to the reading with an open ear and heart.
• Do not ask anything that you do not want an honest answer to.  As psychics, we are trained to be honest and to give what we get, if we are good at what we do.  If you don’t want to know about something, don’t ask (although there is no guarantee it will not come up.)  Usually, you will think that you want to know then be upset when you receive an answer you don’t like.  Remember, that nothing a psychic says takes away your free will to make changes OR to think for yourself. Readings are not about people pleasing and giving you happy info so that you can walk away temporarily feeling better.  They are meant to help you heal and to make good choices.  A good reader should EMPOWER you but to do that you have to EMPOWER yourself.  Do not give away your power to us because of our “skill.”
• Be willing to use the information provided to reflect on yourself and to do the work on yourself.  That is the best possible gift that we can give you.  If you use the information we give to you to reflect on yourself, you will grow from it. If you are willing to take action based on what you receive, you will benefit.
• Leave your expectations about how a reading should be, what the reader should tell you, how you want it to be, how you think the reader works/how they should work at the door.  Every reader works differently, you should do your homework to ensure that you are seeing the right reader for you.  It is not for you to tell the reader how they should be working according to what you think works best, how you saw another reader do it, etc. If we are professional we will have spent time figuring out what methods work best for us.
• Pick the right reader for you and your needs.   If you want to communicate with someone who has passed, make sure you see a medium, and ask your loved ones in advance of the appointment to communicate with the medium.  If you know you have an issue that needs special understanding (such as soul mates) go to someone who understands those areas well.
• Understand that we do not tell you what to do, if we are doing our jobs well—we give you guidance, and YOU decide what to do with your life, and exercise your free will.  Some people like being told what to do, as they don’t own their own power.  Other people are not open to receiving any input and are dead set on their way.  You want to be somewhere in the middle.  You must evaluate the information, and if it works with your intuition, accept it, if it does not, think it over a couple of times with an open mind, and if it really does not fit, discard it.
•  What we tell you is not written into the stone holy book of law.  We make predictions, based on the past and the present energies in any given situation.  The future, as far as anyone who has investigated it can tell, is not written in stone.  There are some things which seem more certain than others, we can’t always explain why, but a good reader can tell you what the probability of any situation is given its current energetic ‘leaning.’  If you are not sure, ask.  There are likelihoods, there are directions that energy flows in, there are leanings and probabilities, soul lessons and plans, other people’s soul lessons and plans, your free will, and the free will of others.  It is complicated.  We tell you the way things are leaning so that if you like it, you keep doing what you are doing, or you add something that will help, if you DON’T like it, you can make changes and adjustments to get a different outcome.  That is what a reader does.  A reader does not tell you “it is going to be this way no matter what,” without giving you choices, options, and insight, and if they do not….they are not doing their job.
• Accept that you may hear something you don’t want to hear, while we are here to help you, we are not here to tell you a “happy ending story.”  If we are good at what we do, we will tell you the truth of what we get AND help you to move forward and make choices.  Don’t pay us to lie to you, pay us to tell you the truth 🙂  Most people say they feel better after a reading, if the reader was empowering, no matter what the information is.  However, personal growth sometimes gets uncomfortable.  If you hear something you don’t like, ask more about it, and ask WHAT you can do about it to make it the best outcome for all concerned.
• We reflect things back to you that you need to be aware of and to know, but we are not 100% right or accurate.  We must accurately interpret information that is subtle, difficult in coming across, and sometimes comes in bits and pieces.  This is not an exact science.  At times, we do not interpret correctly.  If it does NOT feel right to you it is either 1) something you do not want to hear or deal with that you have pushed out of your conscious mind, and therefore feels quite uncomfortable 2) we have misinterpreted our impressions.  Please think over both of these possibilities before discarding information.
•  Ask questions! Make sure your concerns are answered and that you understand what we have said to you. If you don’t get it, ask!  Also, it is possible that we are misinterpreting some detail–stop us and ask us if you think it may apply in some other way.  Sometimes we need help from you to put something in its proper context (the whole reading should not be this way, but it will happen from time to time.)  That is why we ask questions (if we do.)  We are trying to clarify what is happening with what we receive and relate it to you.  Some readers work by allowing you to ask questions (I do), others prefer to give info then have you ask questions.  But at some point, you will have the opportunity to give input and to clarify. Take it!  Understand that your life–past, present and future–with all of its facets, is a large ground to cover.  We cannot cover it all in 30 minutes or 60 minutes, so take control of your session and ask what you want to ask.  It also helps some readers (such as myself) to focus on what you need and want to know.  Some of you will want to see if we can pick up on things first (testing us,) which is in part understandable, but what happens is we just ask questions in our head anyway to get to the answers (this is a “general” reading.)   If you have a specific question, save us (and you!) the time and let’s get to the point.  You don’t have to tell us everything or even any great detail, but help us by asking the right questions. Ask and you shall receive 🙂
• Understand that if the loved one you wish to speak with is not coming through, this is just how it is meant to be.  It does not mean anything about how much they loved you, or didn’t, it simply means it is not the right time to connect.  When they “call” us (the medium), they have a reason for it.  Much like living humans, when we call them (attempt to connect without THEM making the initiative), they might not answer, or…they might not have much to say.  When they show up in the reading they do so for specific reasons.  Be open to others who may show up, you do not have to know those who have passed well for them to come through to you.  Likewise, it is possible for whatever reason, that your reader is just not connecting with you.  In that case, any respectable reader will tell you so within the first 5 minutes of the reading, and give you your money back (if applicable.)  Don’t take it personally, it happens very rarely for all of us, but it does happen to all of us.  Ask for a referral to another reader and don’t wrack your brain trying to figure it out (as none of my colleagues have figured it out yet, either!)
•  If when your reading is over, you need more clarity on what occurred, feel free to contact me and ask.  I am willing to clarify what I receive in a reading for my clients (but please know that this may not apply to every reader.) This is only for information that we have already covered in a previous reading.  Please respect a reader’s time limits for readings while they are going on.  We may have other clients waiting for us.  And please respect a reader’s personal time.  When we are not doing a reading for you, we are not “on.”  Many of us have a procedure we follow for tuning in, and we are not tapped in to you every minute of every day.  We have times when we are not working like everyone else, please respect that.  Also, please respect our time for setting up appointments.  If you can’t make an appointment, please let us know as soon as you know.  While we understand that your concerns may be urgent for you, we have lives also, and we can’t always fit you in “immediately.”  We also often have a lot of people seeking us out.  Please be patient, and it will be worth it 🙂

Readers are not here to give you personal opinions, judgement, advice column information.  We are here to go within, consult our intuition, and to come back with helpful, useful, empowering–insight.  It is meant to be a positive experience, not an ego trip for the reader.  But you cannot have a positive experience without a positive attitude, so please come to us with the mind set of being able to take our information into account, match it with our own intuition and inner sense, and then make your own informed decisions.