Sun Tzu

Oshnsoul; I just wanted to mention something- My mother definately has a gift. So did my grandmother. My grandmother had it in the form of either dreams or seeing visions. She used to tell me about them and they sounded more like descriptive superstitions ie- like a black bird flying into a house and cawing signifying someone close has died (just an example not specific to her) she always seemed to be right; but I would say she was more of a deeply spiritual person than psychic.

My mother on the other hand has feaked alot of people out (including herself and I) with her abilities. In the past it seemed as though she did it more for fun; like stating things about a person she didnt know- their parents names, exact birthdates, personal things people may have not wanted anyone to know about, etc. She has never asked for money because she never took it seriously. There was a period she put it to good use by using to counsel someone and help them process things going on in their life- never telling them what was coming. She stopped and hasnt done it for abut 3 years because people wouldnt leave her alone and they began telling their friends with them telling their friends and so on.

In any case the most effective means she used to start the "reading" was by asking for something sentimental from the person. The more emotional background in the item the better. She never did the John Edwards approach "asking questions", she simply told the person what she was seeing and then they would usually freak out. I've seen this done with other psychics that police used for missing persons. Like giving them ribbons or similiar. So I dont think that all that ask for items are fakes.
I do believe that our minds have the ability to do the same things without have such articles; they may be tools used for people at the beggining of their personal discovery- I dont know.

__________________
To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.- Stephen Hawking