A Different Kind of Job Alison Roberts COMING from a traditional background combining science and religion in equal measures through both my mother and father, I had always been very sceptical about Mediums, Clairvoyants and anyone claiming to have "special powers"! About 12 years ago a friend went to visit a Clairvoyant and she asked me to come along. Reluctantly, I agreed. As we drove down to Cornwall, my curiosity was starting to get the better of me and my friend's excitement was contagious. I did have a reading that day and a woman of about my age told me two or three very specific things about myself which there was no way she could have known. The first thing that went through my head was "How did she do it?" and the second, "If she can, so can I!" There is no doubt that this meeting changed my life. At the time, I was a Management Consultant, caught up in the 80's trend of being a successful entrepreneur. I had always had an interest in people and had been reading all the positive thinking and personal development books I could get my hands on. Shortly after, I split up with my long-term boyfriend and moved to the States for a couple of years where a friend introduced me to the Tarot cards as a means of gaining clarity and as a problem solving tool. I learnt how to read the cards for myself not using traditional meanings or a book but by looking at the pictures and being totally honest with myself and what I could see reflected in the cards. The cards became like a good friend, helping me through the changes I was making in my life. Upon returning to the UK, I was unable to find work and in desperation one night went along to a local Psychic Fair. Feeling very out of place, I approached a man of roughly the same age as me. He did not really give me anything that I didn't already know. Instead, he told me to "go and see the man by the door" who organised the fairs who said "Are you doing anything tomorrow evening?" When I said "no", he immediately told me to be in South Woodford at 5.30pm with my cards as they needed an extra Reader! Terrified, I turned up the following evening with my pack of Tarot cards and a white sheet lent to me by my mother. I had never 'read' for anyone else yet that night, which I will never forget, I did six readings and amazed myself at how accurate I was and how quickly I seemed to be able to link into a complete stranger. All I did that night was exactly the same thing I had been doing for myself! It proved to me that it really worked. That was eleven years ago! Needless to say, I am still doing readings, and for the last seven years have been teaching others how to become more aware of what they too are really capable of. I have read many books, distilled what I needed from them, put into practice what felt right and ditched the rest! I know that I am no different to anyone else in that we all have the same abilities and capabilities, yet each of us expresses them differently. This has been proved to me time and time again...Subjects like Mediumship, Telepathy, Clairvoyance and any other skill which involves forging a 'link' or connection with someone else and describing what your senses tell you can be taught, and the quicker you want to learn, the faster you will acquire them! I have appeared many times on TV's Mystic Challenge, on BBC Radio 4 and in the local and National Press. I have made a presentation to the North London Chamber of Commerce and do Lectures and Demonstrations regularly within the M25, as well as teaching. The rewards are massive. Every day, I can potentially help someone to change their lives for the better. I never take these skills for granted, as it has taken hard work and practice to learn them, and each person I teach ends up better at this than I am. I have been able to show people shortcuts that no-one ever showed me, and have seen people literally shine as a result of their newly-acquired skills. Most of all, doing this job has really boosted my confidence, as I have started to realise that I am capable of far more than I ever thought possible. It has enabled me to really 'empathise', to not be afraid, to quickly build lasting relationships with others, to meet some wonderful people with whom to share ideas and to feel the passion, at last, of doing something that I really love. The mind is a wonderful tool, and I feel that I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.