Many people who come to an Akashic Record reading for the first time are not quite sure what to expect. The word “reading” suggests that psychic gifts are involved. How is getting an Akashic Record reading different from going to a psychic? Is the information more accurate? Is there some special knowledge that is not available to “common” psychics?
The difference between an Akashic Record reading and a psychic reading is the way we receive information.
From my perspective, and very generally speaking, a psychic reads the energy field of a person. Some psychics are very good at tuning into emotions and feelings, others can channel thoughts, others still are remote viewers — or they may use a combination of these methods plus tools, such as pendulum or Tarot cards.
The Akashic Records are separate from the energy and emotions of a person. They are a database of information. Again, very generally speaking (read more on what the Akashic Records are in this article) . This information is outside time, space, duality and has a higher vibration than human emotions.
Higher vibration does not mean better or more “spiritual”. It just means that in their pure form, the Records are outside physicality, because our bodies and minds vibrate at lower frequencies. The Akashic Records are actually not accessible to the human mind “as is” — one would need to be outside their body to interact with the Records directly. The Records are a code, similar to light spectrum frequencies or the vibration of sound.
What an Akashic Record reader then receives is an interpretation that is relevant in a given situation. The way this interpretation is relayed will depend a great deal on the personality and level of consciousness of the reader, as well as on their own inner library of images and experience. For example, the frequency of an ancestral template of religious persecution may come through as images of burning witches, as words or feelings, and in the unlikely case the reader has no idea what religious persecution is, as a feeling of general discomfort that they are not sure about.
This is where the traditional psychic readings and Akashic Records readings converge — a reader still needs to use their intuitive faculties to interpret the information received.
Of course this interpretation will be colored by the reader’s own experience, knowledge and perceptions. This is why we ask for our egos to be set aside before we access the Akashic Records — and this is also why everyone’s style of reading the Records is different.
Is an Akashic Record Reading only About Past Lives?
Many people have the impression that the Akashic Records are all about past lives. It makes sense — if we have a dataset where all experience is recorded, that it would mean we can just open a soul record and read all about its past. Right?
It is certainly possible to learn about Past Lives in an Akashic Record Reading. The Records do have information about soul history. We can go to the very first incarnation, as well as scan through incarnations that are currently affecting us.
Problem is, time is only relevant from our perspective, when we are in the body. The vaster universe has different “times,” the passing of time depends on the physics of an object or space, while in certain locations and dimensions time simply ceases to exist. It can quickly get really mind-bending, but my point is, time is not linear.
So while many traditions will claim that full consciousness includes knowing all of our past lives, and having access to the knowledge and skills learned in them, the concepts of past, present and future are actually a bit murky in the Akashic Records. Besides, no reader, psychic, or any other external power can lead us into full consciousness. That is our own inner work in combination with Divine grace.
An Akashic Record reading may serve as a helpful tool in gaining insights into past lives or getting a general overview of a soul’s history. In my experience, they are best suited for looking into main patterns of disempowerment and trauma on a soul’s journey. An Akashic Record reading can also help if a certain past life is influencing current situation.
For more in-depth work, I find that past or parallel life regression is a much more suitable option.
What About the Future?
Another major difference between an Akashic Record reading and a psychic reading is the issue of predicting the future. When going to a psychic, many, if not most, expect to receive a future prediction. For most people, a hallmark of a good psychic is their ability to predict the future.
This is very disempowering and karmically dubious. Why would one want to let someone else create their destiny?)
In the quantum reality, future is a potential until it is brought forth into existence by observing it. Until the potential is verbalized, it is one on the infinite sea of many. Once it has come to life, it becomes tangible, physical, real. This is why people who like to ask about their future all the time often live very chaotic lives. Tens, maybe hundreds of possibilities are competing to become the outcome of their situation, pulling the person in many different directions, keeping them stuck and ultimately, disempowered.
Future is conditional on the choices we make. Yes, as souls, we choose the main events and conditions of our life prior to incarnation. This includes our family and country of origin, the important people in our lives, the lessons to learn, our connection to certain places and professions, and so on.
But how we respond to those circumstances and lessons is entirely up to us. At any given moment, we have a choice to refuse to learn our lessons, to dig our heels in and get stuck — or to transcend our life circumstances and rise above them.
So contrary to what some people may believe, future is not written in stone in the Akashic Records. It exists as a multiplicity of options, which changes according to the choices of a person. The Akashic Records are not a guidebook for the future.
An Akashic Record reading can be quite disappointing for those who believe their future is set in stone.
The protective mechanism of the ego is to either remain in the memories of the past, or to try and control the future. Releasing that control and surrendering to the uncertainty is where spiritual work begins. The Akashic Records will always guide a seeker to that beginning.
The Akashic Records: A Higher Vantage Point
To sum up, the main difference from a psychic reading is that the Akashic Records are not connected to our egos and emotions, nor to our concept of time. Therefore, we can say that an Akashic Record reading comes from a higher vantage point. Any information received from the Records is also healing in itself, precisely for that reason — it comes from a space of perfect clarity.
The Akashic Records will not have information on insignificant events, will never transmit any information that can be used to manipulate another person, and are not a tool for making future predictions. But a good psychic can use this information to better tune in to the energy of their client and give more details, suggesting the best course of action.