Psychic revelations

Friday night, students gathered in the Student Union for a glimpse into their futures.

???The Late Night Psychic Fair, part of Student Life's Late Night UB program, brought psychics from the spiritualist community of Lily Dale, near Chautauqua, N.Y., to North Campus to conduct readings for students.

???Psychics were available for students who were interested in having a tarot card reading, having their palms read or attempting to connect with departed relatives.

???Beth Christensen, a freshman medical science major, was glad for the opportunity to receive a psychic reading at the university. However, she took her reading in stride.

???"The cards said I will be getting into a new relationship soon, but he won't be the one," Christensen said. "I would see a psychic again, but it's not something I believe is true. I'm open to the ideas, but I know they are not definite answers."

???Balaji Narayanan, a senior engineering science major, said he was the first member of his family that had ever received a psychic reading. Narayanan asked about his professional career, but took advice cautiously.

???"It's always good to take [the positive] things and leave the negative," Narayanan said.

???Mediums tell their clients what they are feeling, whether the person's future is a tribulation, a triumph or something unimagined. Students learned about their life, family and personality traits in great detail.

???"My reading was dead-on," said Krista Hartz, a freshman business major. "Aside from my questions, she gave me information about my life and relatives that were specifically true and she connected with a deceased family member that I did not expect or even tell her about."

???Gretchen Clark, one of the Lily Dale psychics at the event, noted that over 60 percent of her clients are looking to contact someone deceased. Advice on job changes and selling property are the other most frequently sought topics, Clark said.

???Clark's mother told her that as a young child, she was talking in her crib and communicating with her grandmother who she had never met. She learned how to read people's auras and detect visual vibrations in their colors. She touts a God of understanding and begins each session in silent prayer, which she describes as feeding a client's hunger for communication.

???Psychics, according to Clark, learn to control their intuitions like an 'on' or 'off' switch. If there is something drastically important, the voices will get her attention.

???Like a television, Clark turns up the volume when she needs to hear the voices or is bored waiting in line at a doctor's office or in a supermarket.

???Christians who are skeptical of psychics are not reading their Bibles, according to Clark. Clark said angels appear in the book of Daniel and several other areas of scripture. She feels that the evidence for intuition is undeniable, regardless what religion a person practices. Most psychics believe in a higher power and channel the generic God in their practices, according to Clark.

???"Spiritualism is founded by every religion," Clark said. "Mediums are not unique to spiritualism. Trust your instincts. Everyone has them."