Doing Readings for Money? What Is your take

[warmwhispers]

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for not posting in a while (some family issues...ANYWAYS) So yes, this question has been brought to my attention many times. I personally don't think that I could ever charge money in return for using my gift, but I know that many other there do just that. I'm not condemning or encouraging either path in any way, I just want to know what you all think about it!

Looking forward to reading all your answers.

Love & Light,

WW

[Malene]

The problem I see with taking money for it, is not that someone makes a living out of reading people. It is the lack of quality control that is my major issue with it. There is no way of knowing if you get what your money is worth. Empath readings are not that much of a problem for me, as it is those "past lives" readings. An empath reading you can at least confirm or deny, whereas a past life information is without validation.

When it comes to people taking money for readings, there is always the risk, that the reading/advice is poor. And so, how do you get your money back? You usually don't. And the person reading you may or may not be skilled in giving advice.

The only solution I can currently come up with, is that people use the empath ability as a supplement to a coaching session of some sort, so that the empathy does not stand alone as the only thing you are paying for. In reality it should not even be part of the charge.

On the other hand, as I stated earlier in a discussion, we all do readings for a reason. We all get something out of it, whether it is some practice or validation or other narcissistic needs. So really we should all take any reading, paid for or free of charge, with a bit of positive skepticism.

At the end there is only the advice, and if it works, then maybe it is worth the price, what ever that price may be...

But I don't have any ethical issues with people taking money for their 'gifts', it is a talent. Talents still need control if they come with a price. It is just reasonable customer relationship management.

[Deirdre Siobhan]

I think each person is so different it would be hard to say what is right in terms of money in general. I know I have huge trouble taking money because what I do seems to me to be in a completely different world to money. Fact of the matter is that I have banished money for some reason. This is partially an inherited problem and partly karmic.
What I am trying to do for myself is to develop and nurture my own good sense for money in me, to pause when being asked to do something and listen in to what is RIGHT to ask for. Empathy for my own needs and healthy connection to my own truth. I am still a toddler in this domain but when I manage to sense myself, ask my higher helpers and state simply what the appropriate amount is in that situation, it is a good feeling for me AND the person paying. It does mean a new approach to pricing, but, I feel ill if it isn't right...true.

[Elise Lebeau]

What a great question that many Empaths are afraid to ask...

I ran into this when I started to do readings professionally. Here are my thoughts:

I think everyone ends up finding their own code of ethics so that both the reader and the client can feel good about the exchange of energy. There isn't one set of rules or practices that will work for everyone.

Personally, I let the client be the judge of the quality of my reading. If they don't feel the reading was helpful (for what ever reason), I offer a full refund. I let them decide what kind of "help" is meaningful to them. I combine this with a VERY strong intention to attract only the people who can truly benefit from my work and who are 100% ready for it.
PS: In 7 years of readings and hundreds of clients, only three people have asked for a refund and the last one was many years ago...

I am happy to pay for those people in my life who provide this kind of services (like my awesome massage therapist). I feel that money allows one to feel "balanced" in this exchange of energy, instead of feeling "indebted".

An yet, I also remember when I was unable to afford the things that could make me feel happier, so that's why I have free resources of my web site, like the Empath Survival Program and the Intuitive Healing Program.

It took me many years to find that right balance of free/fee services. I think it's part of our personal journey of self-discovery!

in love,
Elise

[Remi Daily]

Hey warmwhispers!!!

Long time no see, and I am very glad to see you back! I love your energy. There are many new people here with great energies.

I've been debating this too. I personally feel as though if I started to charge for my intuitive/tarot reads that I would lose my abilities. I don't know if the pressure of getting an accurate read would cause "performance anxiety". I am the type whose like strongly into accuracy. However, the lady at my local metaphysical shop told me to stop doing that and start charging! She's pretty good at what she does, whatever she does. Just like someone else mentioned I am not big into the past life thing because you could claim anything and there would be no validation.

Then I started to think about it this way.... doctors get paid well to heal people. Lot of times they don't heal, they make up reasons for an ailment and still charge. There's little accuracy in what they do than what we do, not all of the time, but many times this is true. Just like engineers, a lot of the time they have no clue if what they've conceived on paper is actually going to work. But they also get paid well to try, try, and try, till they get an end product that will work.

I don't know. Right now I am, through this group, polishing my skills to the point I am confident about accuracy that I could actually give readings deemed worthy of pay if I wanted to, or say more like needed to (if money gets short in this economy).

I could not condemn anyone if they did charge as long as they have established a sense of accuracy through many confirmed and practiced readings. Just like doctors and lawyers who have to pass a board exam. Show me they at least have some proven track record. I think I'm this way because of my scientific bent, but. I've met many astrologers online who do horrible chart reads, just really horrible ones. I used to do free chart readings with the little amount of astrology I knew. I got good results, but someone broke it down to me and said "You know what, you're accurate with this chart and how the events are playing forth, but your astrology stinks, I think you're picking a lot energy in other ways (psychic or intutively) other than with astrology"

In hindsight, I think the person was right to a large degree, but I also think that my astrology didn't stink, it was just very basic but I knew what to look for in technique to gain more insight than other astrologers might have known. Its all about technique, being analytical, and practice. But there are a lot of professional astrologers I would never give my money to for a read. So if the person knows the basics, even if they might not be the best, at least they can guarantee a level of accuracy. But as empaths, there isn't like an empath certification association somewhere like there is with Tarot where you can become certified.

Ah... excellent post without a firm answer...

Love and light
Remi

[KojaK]

In the words of Heath Ledger: "If you're good at something, never do it for free."

But, I don't really care either way. My only concern, is that the few true empaths that use thier gift for a fee with be lost in the sea of phonies and fakes.

The moral: don't use phone psychics.

[Angel]

depends on the reader and their own convictions. If they charge, they can eventually afford to do it full-time and helping more people. When you are working or going to school full-time, you don't have the energy to read very many people. However, for some, it's like "personal gain" for something that truely isn't our to begin with. A gift given to help people and had do we dictate on who we help by who pays and who dousn't. It's a double edged sword.

[Angel]

p.s. I did do this for money a few times, and have realized that many people still try to pay as little as possible and have very high expectations. Some will even go as far and tell you how off you are so the reading will be free. Many of the problems are also petty and they expect dates, times, and the list goes on. It will be tempting to simply give a "nice" reading, telling them what they want to hear so you don't loose a customer or have an unhappy customer. There is alot of pressure.

[Anthony T. Ellis]

I encountered a local empath that was offering coupons for dream readings and that made me feel very uneasy. I'm also worried about what Angel mentioned; empaths giving inaccurate readings because they want to profit off of making people feel good.

I don't have a problem with empaths making money off of their gifts as long as they do it with class and dignity. Just try not to do anything that will make people more skeptical of us.

*edit* I still think we're capable of doing a lot more than just reading individual people. Good money in expanding on that.

[Lisa I]

I think money is an energy exchange and I don't mind people charging for their time, but the problem is quality control. There are so many healers, psychics, empaths that are gifted, but unskilled. I think part of the problem is just the nature of our empathic/psychic gifts..they are just on from birth..and most people don't know how to maximze their gifts for greater benefit to themselves and others.
I read Sonia Choquette's bio about her growing up psychic..she said it took many years before she could be professional and give readings with good conscious and she was blessed to have a mentor to teach her about her gift as a child.I remember her saying "Just because you pick up on something, dosen't mean it's of any value". That was a clincher for me and explained why I was dissapointed in some of the readings/healings I got.
I have read studies where psychics who charged for their services eventually experienced a decline in their accuracy rate..drastically. I have a theory about this. I think that their may be some negative contracts or oaths with the spirit guides that provide information that they can't charge for their readings as it is a spiritual gift.I remember having a reading with a famous psychic..she told me she use to give people the winning lottery numbers and EVERYTIME, something bad happened to her children. She soon learned to stop doing it.

[warmwhispers]

hmm, this is interesting. I'm not really sure what to say about the decline of the psychic gifts, but you've got me thinking ;)

[SusanR]

I don't see any reason why a person couldn't or shouldn't be paid for sharing their gift. As was pointed out, doctors get paid without an expectation of a 100% cure rate. My plumber certainly demands payment even when he doesn't fix the problem.

For me the decision to charge money for readings is more about an individual's own comfort level than right or wrong. If it feels right, then do it. If it doesn't, then don't. I've given many readings over the years but have never asked for remuneration. People have come back and insisted on paying me, but because it didn't feel right for me I declined. (If someone insists on paying, I usually suggest that they give the money to charity, though I am pretty sure that they usally don't...) To put it another way, I am comfortable giving a private reading to people that I feel have a pressing need to hear what I am saying but seriously doubt that I would be able to distance myself as the message bearer if I had to make a living at it. I would get frustrated and overwhelmed and that is no way to provide a professional service.

Peace and Joy

Susan

[Tony Irwin]

Hi warmwhispers,

There's a similar discussion here I remembered that you may find interesting: link

Training, learning, and growing, doesn't come free. It costs money, time, energy, and relationships. When somebody is able to offer me the benefit of all that costly hard work, then I expect to pay them something for that. I'm enjoying the benefit of what they've spent so much on trying to develop.

Heck, I'm not at the point where I'd even offer to read people for the sake of practice. Yet just learning to ground myself has cost me in money, time etc.