You Are a Medium: Discover Your Natural Abilities to Communicate With the Other Side (5 page)

my mouth. I was ready for her onslaught of anger. But, still looking out the window she just nodded her head. Before she could collect

her thoughts and come back to the mother that I knew, I left the

room. We never spoke of this again.

Y

Several days later, I received another visit from my grandfather.

I was in my backyard when I felt his now familiar spirit.

“Thank you.” I heard him say. “You and your mother have both

helped me.”

For first time since our visits began, I felt the warmth of his

love reaching out to me. I assumed that I had helped him by giv-

ing my mother his message. I was not sure how my mother helped

him, but I supposed he needed her forgiveness and she came closer

to this than I had thought possible. This was the first time since

our encounters began that I felt peace with him. A shiver of energy moved up my spine and into my heart. The hair on my arms stood

up as I felt rush of love flow over me. Then he was gone.

Love Transcends Time and Space

At the time I did not fully understand the impact and significance

of this encounter, but I knew that my connection to the other

side had changed. The spirit realm was no longer simply fun and

games. My mother changed in a way that I had not thought pos-

sible. If only for a magical moment while staring out the window

in the kitchen, she remembered that her father loved her. Maybe

more importantly through some kind of miracle that I could not

fully grasp, she felt his love.

My mother and grandfather came together in a way that they

were not able to while my grandfather was alive on earth. They

needed one another’s love and forgiveness. I witnessed a transfor-

26 ~ The Good Dead: My Early Years

mation in my mother that no friend, therapist, self-help protocol

or positive affirmation could equal. I had never known my mother

to express anything but bitterness and anger toward her father. I

saw the light of hope and forgiveness peek out her of and it was

wonderful.

Y

Since my early days as a medium I have come to realize that

being able to communicate with the other side is just part of the

story. In the thousands of readings I have given since my encoun-

ter with my grandfather I have witnessed a similar kind of power

that changes lives. It heals, forgives and fills in the gaps where our human frailties keep us stuck. It resides within each one of us and is greater than any one of us. With it those on the other side help, comfort and heal us and with it we heal comfort and help them.

The Good Dead: My Early Years ~ 27

2

Spiritual Helpers,

Angels and Guides

Even though from an early age I was able to communicate with

those on the other side, I had no desire to become a profes-

sional medium. Although I love what I do and cannot imagine

doing anything else, I have not always felt this way. For most of

my childhood I knew I was different and that some considered my

natural ability to communicate with the other side to be odd. I did not know of anyone else who was able to see hear, feel and sense

the spirit realm in the way that I did. As I got older my encoun-

ters and interactions with those on the other side intensified. There seemed to be nothing that I could do to turn off my sixth sense. As interesting and comforting as communicating with the other side

could be, there was a part of me that wanted to fit in and be like

everyone else. As I got older the idea of broadcasting my intuitive talents went against my natural reserved tendencies and I did all I could do to go in the opposite direction. You may be a bit like me.

You too may have experienced some form of contact with the other

side. Everyone has innate medium capabilities. Yet, many of us also hesitate, deny and do not readily claim our abilities.

My path to becoming a professional medium has involved much

more than refining my intuitive abilities. I have had to confront my
29

inner fears and resistance and heal and grow in many areas of my

life. Along the way I have had the wise and loving support of many, including those in the physical and spiritual realms. Yet, it has been the determined and persistent prodding from my spirit guides and

angels has led the way.

A Variety of Spirits

When I was young, my awareness and ability to communicate with

those on the other side was not limited to my family members who

had passed over. Through clairvoyance, which is the ability to visually see spiritual energy, I became aware of a variety of spirits in my environment. There were some who I did not recognize and who

I felt no connection to. Others were more intuitively familiar. My

perception of the spirits in my environment however, was not al-

ways clear and understandable. Sometimes their visual form would

fade or drift. At times I would see a partial image that looked more dream like. Less often they would be third dimensional in appearance. I also became aware of spirits through clairsentience. This is the ability to sense energy. You may also feel the presence of spirits in this way. Have ever been driving in your car or awakened at night with the feeling that there was someone beside you? You might not

know who it is, but you sense that you are not alone.

When I was young I did not know who many of the spirits were

that I encountered and why I was able to see and sense them. Yet,

as perplexing as this was, I was never frightened or upset when I

saw a face staring back at me from the mirror or observed solitary

transparent figures walking in the woods or down the street. Most

did not interact or make contact with me. There were, however, a

few spirits who did seem to be aware of me. They felt oddly familiar and I looked forward to their visits. I now know that these were

encounters with my spirit guides.

A spirit guide does not incarnate in the physical world during

our life span. They have completed their time in the here and now.

30 ~ Spiritual Helpers, Angels and Guides

From the spirit realm they continue to evolve and grow by help-

ing those in the physical realm who have the same challenges and

interests that they experienced when here. You too have a spirit

guide and during the course of your life several will come and go.

Even though you may not be aware of their presence they assist and

help you in a variety of ways. Because of their diverse knowledge

and expertise, they can guide you in all areas of your life no matter how practical or mundane. You may not however, always recognize

their positive influence and presence. My first encounters with the spirit who I later realized was my guide, were just simple fun. There seemed to be no agenda and no significant purpose behind our

meetings.

My Guide by the River

Growing up I spent a lot of time in nature. A great lover of hik-

ing and camping, my mother would pack up our tents and other

gear most weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall and

we would head for the beach or mountains. One of our favorite

places to go was in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. A short drive

of just over an hour, our tents could be set up on the banks of the river along the Mohawk Trail before sunset on a Friday afternoon.

Crossing the bridge that led to our favorite camping spot, a statue of a Mohawk Indian with his arms raised to the sky stands tall in

a grove of trees. Known for the Native Americans who lived in the

area, the mountains and rivers were alive with their spirits. It was here that I became friends with my first spirit guide.

When we are young we connect with our guides in a natural

way. Most children still feel and interact with the spiritual realm without giving it much thought. My connection with my guide

crossed over into that fuzzy zone of imagination, make believe and

pure spiritual presence. At the time, I would not have called him

a spirit guide. He was integrated within the essence of the envi-

ronment. I first felt him as part of the trees, the sky and the river.

Spiritual Helpers, Angels and Guides ~ 31

Later I caught a few glimpses of him, standing tall with a broad

smile and kind eyes. As his presence became more familiar, I ex-

perienced feelings that I could not put into words. Sitting on big

stones in the river listening to the hypnotic rush of water and wind, I could feel him sitting next to me. He was unlike the other spirits that I encountered. Feelings of warmth, connectedness and surges

of love beyond my comprehension would flood my heart when

he was near. Although I had in the past felt emotions and feelings

while in the company of spirit beings, this was different. I felt as if I was under the influence of a magical and secretive spell. There was a tingle in the air and the water sang and laughed. A moment in

space opened and I could feel the rivers and mountains, as he did,

alive and vibrant.

My family went on camping trips to this same spot year after

year and so my connection with him continued in this way into my

teenage years. As soon as we crossed the bridge onto the Mohawk

trail I felt his presence. In my twenties my peaceful bond with him abruptly intensified. Up until this time my contact had been limited to our camping trips. Once back home, I did not encounter or

even think much about him. However, one day he startled me by

paying me a visit.

My Cosmic Rodeo Clown

At the time of I was working as an artist and an art therapist. Al-

though I also gave medium readings to friends and friends of

friends I had no desire to work professionally in this way. I loved being an artist and I spent most of my time working in my small art studio in my backyard. It was here that my guide from the mountains appeared in an unexpected way. One day while painting, I felt a tangible presence behind my shoulder. At first I did not give it too much attention. I tried to ignore whatever or whoever was with me,

but it would not go away. Wondering who or what this was finally

got the better of me. Focusing on the presence, I heard a voice ask
32 ~ Spiritual Helpers, Angels and Guides

me to meditate and better tune into his presence. In my studio I

had a small area padded with cushions, for daily meditation. I went and sat down in this spot, closed my eyes and began to breathe and

relax. With a few minutes I began to see colorful and vibrant im-

ages of a Native American riding a horse. As I focused on the im-

ages I realized that this was my spirit friend from the mountains

and he was clearly trying to get my attention.

I telepathically sent him a message. “What do you want?”

Instead of answering me, he started to do tricks on his horse. He

was hilarious. Like a funny rodeo clown he would tumble through

the air making faces and leap in crazy jumps through space. Besides making me laugh there initially seemed to be no other message.

Eventually he faded away. I continued meditating for several more

minutes then went back to work.

Several times a week, for a few months, this continued. While

meditating, spontaneous visions of him twirling and jumping

through space on his horse would appear. It was funny and enjoy-

able and I looked forward to his visits. Then one he startled me and told me his name.

“I am Techyouwatchyu”I heard him say in a deep voice. “I am

here to help you.”

However, Techyouwatchyu was not big on talk. After he told

me his name, (which took me years to finally realize was “Teach

You Watch You”), he said little else. Even so, I suspected that he

had come to help motivate me to work full time as a psychic and

medium. For months previous to his arrival, I had been receiv-

ing the intuitive message that it was time for me work with oth-

ers. Although I was giving a few medium readings a week, I felt a

consistent inner nudge to work with others on a bigger scale. Yet, I resisted. Techyouwatchyu I intuited was here to help me hasten the

process. Still, he seemed in no rush to do anything but make me

smile. He continued to entertain me during my meditations and

seemed content with my laughter at his crazy antics. One afternoon

Spiritual Helpers, Angels and Guides ~ 33

after a particularly funny bout of spiritual acrobats, I asked him the obvious question.