Religion has done a terrible injustice to people who have the gift of prophecy. Perhaps this is one of the area’s Jesus was talking about when he said “How terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering. Luke 11:52

   For centuries, religious leaders have clumped fortune tellers and prophets (psychics) in the same category and called them evil and this is wrong. Yes, there is scripture in the Old Testament that tell us to stay away from fortune tellers and I totally agree with that.

Fortune tellers are not prophets. They have not developed their abilities. Fortune tellers prey on vulnerable people and try to get them hooked on their services. They scam people out of hundreds of dollars and this has been going on forever.

   A prophet is someone who is gifted and has usually worked hard to understand his/her gift. There is so much positive support in the New Testament for the gift of prophecy and it’s time people know that.

   In Corinthians 1:12 Paul tells us about the nine Gifts of the Spirit. And he clearly says that these gifts come from the Holy Spirit. There is no mention of the word Satan or evil when referring to these gifts.

   In order to prophesy, you need psychic abilities. Prophets get their information in visions, which is clairvoyance (the gift of seeing). They also receive telepathic messages from God, angels and other spirits through clairaudience (the gift of hearing).

   Developing these gifts takes quite a bit of work and dedication and I believe this is another area where religion is letting us down. They should be teaching classes in their churches and synagogues on the Gifts of the Spirit. There is so much to understand about these abilities and it just seems clear to me that religion needs to change it’s opinion of prophecy and help us to understand what we have.

   Take the Book of Revelations for example. We are taught that this book is about the end of times here on Earth. How do we know that? Who decided that this man’s visions weren’t about his own life instead? Every picture in his vision could be interpreted several ways. Was he a true prophet or someone who suffered from paranoia? He was, after all, sitting in a penal colony when he had these visions and no one really knows who this man was.

   As we all know, times are changing more so than ever before and I really believe that God gave us these gifts so that we could get all the guidance we need. Visions and telepathic guidance are what makes a person a prophet and my hope for the future is that religious leaders learn about them and then teach them as spiritual gifts.

Unfortunately, I think that day is somewhere way down the road so I’m taking it on as my life work. That’s why I wrote my latest book The Key that teaches people how to develop their psychic abilities. I’m hoping to reach as many people as possible and let them know that they are not going against their religion when developing their gift of prophecy.

   Having this gift is one of the blessings (and curses) of my life. I am in constant communication with God and my spirit guides and not only do I get a lot of help with my own life, but I get guidance for others as well.

I can see into people’s bodies when they are faced with a health challenge and can usually pinpoint where the physical problem is. I can also see if there is an emotional root to the problem. I can give guidance to people in every area of their life and if I use my gifts with integrity, I know that I’m right where God wants me to be.

   Ultimately God would like each of us to go directly to him/her, but when we’re stuck and can’t hear that still small voice within, it can be very helpful to go to someone that has the gift of prophecy and get their help.

Attitudes have changed a lot over the last forty years since I first began this journey as a psychic student and I’m going to hold on to the hope that people’s attitudes and beliefs will continue to change around these abilities and we will all be open channels of communication with God some day.

   If you are someone who sees pictures in your head or has thoughts come into your head that ends up to be the guidance you were looking for, you have psychic abilities. You need to take the time to learn about them and develop them. You need to learn how to discern between false information and truth. You need to open up the lines of communication with your guides. And most important, you need to enjoy the journey.

Namaste.

   Based on the book The Key: Unlock Your Psychic Abilities © 2006 by Echo Bodine. Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA.
www.newworldlibrary.com or
800-972-6657 ext. 52.

   Echo Bodine is a renowned psychic, spiritual healer, and teacher—as well as radio host and bestselling author of The Gift: Understand and Develop Your Psychic Abilities, Hands that Heal, and A Still, Small Voice: A Psychic’s Guide to Awakening Intuition. She actively lectures nationwide on life after death, living by intuition, and developing psychic abilities. Her warm and encouraging style helps students open their minds and take the risk of delving into their psychic development. Echo Bodine lives in Minneapolis. Her website is www.echobodine.com.