Perhaps one of the more difficult challenges we may face as we develop our spiritual awareness and our psychic abilities is that of being tested by unbelievers.

There are many people who are out to prove that psychic abilities do not exist; or, if they concede they may exist, then they wish to test to see how accurate or effective a particular individuals psychic abilities may be. I have met psychics whose abilities appear to be genuine and reliable so I have no doubt as to the existence of psychic abilities. However, I may sometimes doubt my own abilities, and this self-doubt is an open door that those who are seeking to debunk psychics may enter.

It is necessary to harbor some self-doubt, without self-doubt ego develops to the point where lessons in humility and powerlessness may emerge. None of us care to be humiliated or have our abilities fail us when put to a test. However, if we become too full of pride in our abilities then we may need an experience that sets us in our proper place.

Those of us so gifted that their talents are nearly miraculous in nature should never need to worry about being tested. Anyone in that state of being has mastered the faults of their ego which might draw the sort of person who wishes to challenge them. Or, if a challenging person does appear, then the truly gifted psychic may easily deflect that person without having to prove anything.

However, those of us who are developing their fledgling abilities are quite vulnerable to the sort of testing which is almost a sort of sport for those inclined to test our psychic abilities.

What is the underlying need for which some people are motivated to test psychics abilities?

One motivation is ego; the testing person aggrandizes themselves by proving the tested person is able to fail their tests. But there is a poor logic here, the ability to fail a test can be applied in any situation. Failing a test is not proof in and of itself that the party tested does not have the ability the test is alleged to measure. At best, failing a test only demonstrates that the person tested is not 100% reliable, which is quite different from having no ability at all.

Another motivation may be insecurity; many people want to believe that no one can have psychic abilities because then their secrets might be an open book should they encounter someone particularly gifted at reading the hearts and minds of other people. They want to reinforce their choice to believe that psychic abilities do not exist in order to feel assured that their thoughts and feelings are their private business and cannot be known to anyone else except when and how they chose to communicate them.

Hope may be a motivation as well. The tester may hope to find someone with genuine psychic abilities in order to learn from someone who demonstrably proves their abilities to the testers satisfaction.

So hope, fear and ego are key motivational factors which may result in a person testing the psychic abilities of others.

With regard to hope, the tester will find what they seek when it is best for them to do so. Tested parties may all fail, regardless of their genuine abilities if it is in the best interest of either the tester or the tested party for them to fail.

With regard to fear, the tester may be unprepared to have their tests fail. They may be too overwhelmed by the reality of psychic abilities, both because it changes a fundamental part of their chosen belief system, and because their fear will increase when faced with someone who can see into their heart and mind. One spiritual principle of psychic development is that we must never introduce radical change in the world view of a person unprepared to accept it. This is the psychic equivalent of rape. No one truly gifted will do this under any circumstance.

With regard to ego the case is much the same as with fear. The ego always fears for itself. But also, with regard to ego, we cannot put another person in their place in regard to that persons ego without engaging our own ego in a manner that is self-destructive. That is a one-upmanship game that feeds our egos and makes our spiritual journey more difficult.

We may all fail tests of our psychic abilities from time to time through no fault of our own. These failures do not mean we lack psychic abilities, or that our psychic abilities are particularly lame, it only means that the circumstances in which our gifts arise were not ideal for the test in question. If we appear to have failed a test then we have acted in balance with spirit, for in the greater scheme of things spirit has given us our failure as a lesson to ourselves and as a kindness to the person who tests us.

We know in our hearts our own accomplishments in regard to our spiritual journeys and our psychic development. We should never allow ephemeral events to place us in a position of defense of our abilities or in hostile opposition to another persons world view. Let us be grateful for our gifts, however small or infrequently they may appear in our lives, and accept our lessons with grace, humility, and the determination to learn and to grow from all that spirit has given us.