There is no one right way, whatever the college told me

Hello hello, summertime Facebook folk.

I was talking to a well-known medium this morning. Do not worry, I am not going to name-drop, but it is likely you have heard of him. We both went to what is probably the most prestigious college for the development of psychic and spiritual (mediumistic) studies, and we have stayed in touch ever since.

No, I do not hang about with celebrity types. It does not suit me. My friend absolutely does, though. He loves all the glittery glamour of it.

During our conversation he mentioned that the only reason he went to that particular college was the reputation. That was it. He wanted to be able to boast about the name when he was back in the States.

Anyway, it got me thinking. What did I get out of the college? What did I actually learn there?

Hmmmmmmm.

The truth is I learned one thing. Just the one. And it is only after many years that I realise how useful that one thing was.

Our college was a proper mixture of abilities. Some people had incredible healing gifts, others were very good mediums (people who can talk to the dead), and others were just flapping about trying to work out what they could and could not do.

I have never been a good student. I am far too anarchic. I ask awkward questions, say the wrong thing, assume I know best — you know the type. A pain in the arse.

More than anything, I rebel against the whole "my way is the right way" approach to teaching, especially when I am also being told that I will be assessed at the end of it. There is always more than one answer to any question, and many ways of getting to those answers.

In fact, that is the conclusion I came to about my time at college. What I learned was that their way was not the only way, and it was definitely not the right way for me.

Obviously my way was the right way. But then, so was my friend's way, and so was everybody else's who was doing what we were doing.

There is an English expression that says there is more than one way to skin a cat. It is a strange thing to say and I have no idea where it comes from, but the point is this: if you find a way of doing something and it works for you, then it is right for you. Unlike the teachers at the college, that does not mean you have THE right way. You just have one of the right ways.

The way I heal people works well for me, and I teach other people what I do. But I am also perfectly aware that this is my way of healing people, and other people have other ways.

In this wonderful, strange world we live in, it is worth remembering that nobody has a monopoly on learning, however much they might believe they do.

There are a million ways to learn whatever it is you want to master, but the best way is to do it. Start somewhere, be curious, and allow yourself to soak up all the bits that are useful to you and leave the bits that are not.

Learning to heal people is the same. So is building your intuition, reading people and situations psychically, talking to animals, dead people, spiritual guides and helpers — the list goes on and on.

There are people who can help you, but they never have all the answers, especially when they tell you that they do.

The best way to learn anything is to just do it. Do the thing. Otherwise you can spend all your enthusiasm being overwhelmed by everyone telling you how to do it, and never actually do it yourself.

Smile at three different people you do not know today. Like attracts like.