RE: Should mediums/readers charge a fee?
there always seems to be an element of difficulty when it comes to charging for spirital advice or help. we don't apparently have any problem with paying for food for our physical bodies, or water for that matter. it's a bit like that old chestnut about not paying nurses properly. almost as tho' anything that comes from love should be free. in an ideal world, everything that we NEED should be freely available. i'm sure that most hp members would love to be in a financial position to give of their gifts freely, unfortunately very few are in that position. the quandary then is 'do i spend my valuable time earning a living doing something i don't really want to do so i can give my gifts away?' or ' do i ask a fee so i can spend more time helping other people?'
RE: Should mediums/readers charge a fee?
Apologies for 'spiritual advice' is in many way a different thread to mediumship.
Think - "spiritual teachers".
I think in the Western world they need contributions enough to cover overheads.
But many in the New Age get into mixing their healing with 'spiritual advice'. They essentially become semi-gurus. Especially all the know-nothings who nevertheless publish the best-selling books on angels or whatever and go on to become very wealthy, with 'followers'. These people should keep a day job IMHO and give spiritual advice for free.
Whenever I eneter a place where I am paying for 'wisdom' I am not only suspicious but I can tell that the people such as "Reiki with x, y, and z" are only carving out a unique niche for themselves for the purpose of making money. Which is spiritual prostitution. On the other hand, I usually tend towards those of East or West where they have a day job and advice is free. Then you know that they are sincere. They only want to help, not to pay their bills by getting more clients with a new 'sexy' subject of no real substance. 😉
RE: Should mediums/readers charge a fee?
Yes David, and a lot of these people have books to plug and sell as well. I will say though, that sometimes, hiring a hall or other suitable place for people to come and ask for advice can be expensive. Usually such an event goes hand-in-hand with other things, e.g. workshops. A charge is normally made to cover the costs of hiring, even if the advice is free.
Many people get around the taxable element of spirituality by registering themselves as a charity. However, unless the charge is way extortionate and out of proportion for the service offered, charging clients should be a matter for the medium.
Love,
Patsy.
xxxxx
RE: Should mediums/readers charge a fee?
Hi Patsy,
Yes, of course. I have put on hundreds of events from evenings to whole weeks. In the longer ones, it is quite embarrassing to me how much we have to charge just to break even - which is the only financial aim. In fact, I and everyone pay like anyone else to attend! - transport, food, a room, etc.
So you see where my target lies. There is a certain fairly large area of the New Age or whatever we call it where the purity of spiritual advice is lost in the attempt to get more clients by sexing up the subject title, pretending me know more than we do (some famous authors who just cut and paste). And when the switch is made to it being theeir main or half their real income, what do they do if in dire straights? They depart from truth and give the lowest common denominator of teachings on their subject - the goal switches to "career and income".
There's got to be a problem with that. [&:]
RE: Should mediums/readers charge a fee?
Totally agree, David. This is the sort of thing that can happen when peoples' gifts move out of the 'spiritual' and into the 'commercial.' Personally, I dislike any sort of disproportionate financial gain from natural gifts, even more so when people cash in with books, etc. It then becomes tawdry and open to ridicule and fraudulent behaviour (including plagarism) in the pursuit of fame and wealth.
As long as a medium is able to cover his/her expenses from the readings that he/she does, I don't see why charging fees should be a problem.
Love,
Patsy.
😀
edited - grammatical error.