The new Helmsman website is here!
And it really did all begin with an idea ….
When I was reviewing the draft version of the new Helmsman website, the “blogs” section was populated by dummy entries – we were working on the look and feel at that point, so content didn’t matter at that stage. The dummy entries however all contained the same auto-generated text provided by our amazing website designer (thanks, again, always, to the amazing Rebecca!). That text read “It all begins with an idea”. The funny part of it is that the more I read that line, the more I realised that it said everything about how Helmsman came into being.
I’ve been a medium now for over forty years. Every time I say that it still amazes me, but I can still remember my early days of mediumship; knowing things, knowing them to be true, but not knowing how I knew them – much the same experience as many young mediums. I was amazingly lucky, or amazingly well guided, in meeting a very capable, very supportive mentor early in my mediumship who took me through the usual concerns….
No, you’re not mad,
No, you’re not making things up
Yes, you do need to be clear on what parts are you and what parts are someone else
Yes, you absolutely need to draw up some rules for your team, that they must observe, for you to retain your level-headedness.
From there, I’ve been developing and polishing how I work as a medium, ably assisted by some truly amazing trainers, mentors and supervisors along the way.
Some time ago, my supervisor prompted me to ask a really useful question. He asked me “What kind of medium are you?”. At first, I thought “Well, I’m a trance and conversational medium, sometimes using trance, sometimes brokering a conversation between my client and Spirit to pass along messages”. But he persisted. “Yes, that’s all very well, but that’s about what you do. Who are you, as a medium?” And at that point, I started to understand what he was getting at.
Superficially, every medium is the same. We contact Spirit, we pass along messages, we close the connection. Done! But the big secret we often keep even on ourselves, is that beyond that, we have almost nothing in common with each other. Some mediums are absolute experts in working with those who have passed over in traumatic circumstances. Some are experts in finding those in Spirit able to provide comfort and support. I realised that my particular talent is that I seem able to assist those in Spirit whose role it is to resolve issues both for the living and for those in Spirit.
My work is about, and has almost always been about, finding solutions and answers to issues that have troubled my sitters, sometimes for years. So many of my clients come to me for a sitting to get answers to life’s “Yes, but why?” questions. Sometimes, they are drawn to me because those in Spirit need to explain. I realise that the answer to the question “Who are you, as a medium?” was that I’m someone who helps to resolve unanswered issues.
Once I really started to understand where my skills lie, I realised that without any conscious act on my part, I’d surrounded myself with practitioners in other areas whose skills aligned with mine. I’d met those who work with Angelic guides and I’d met massively talented energy healers and tarot readers. I had all these connections to people who offered a range of skills that complemented each other, that would allow me to build a single place where people could find the right skills to get solutions to the questions and issues that had plagued them.
Hence, Helmsman. It started with the idea that there should be one place to which people could go, to access a range of skills to meet their needs, provided by a group of practitioners whose skills and styles were complementary.
Helmsman is still a work I progress. I’ve taken a conservative approach in doing so, so at this early stage, I’m the only medium on the site. However, the site has been designed with the help of a fellow practitioner whom I hope to be able to introduce to the website in the very near future.
For now, I hope you enjoy the new, completely revamped website, that all began with an idea.
Alexander Dalgleish-Weaver
